VERDICT: Cheltenham Town 1 Bury 2

But manager David Flitcroft only had eyes for his defence at the final whistle after they snuffed out a threatened comeback by the managerless Robins to secure a vital three points.

The Shakers looked set to boost their goal difference after storming into a two-goal lead inside 18 minutes.

Danny Mayor put them ahead in the fourth minute before Rose bundled in his first goal in 14 matches.

But a Cheltenham side led by caretaker boss Russ Milton - appointed following the sacking of Paul Buckle on Friday - were gifted a route back into the match on 24 minutes after a mistake by Chris Hussey led to a goal for Denny Johnstone.

Bury’s early adventure made way for a chastening rearguard action that left Flitcroft full of admiration for his backline, who were led by another towering display from captain Nathan Cameron.

“Our keeper has not had a shot to save second half,” he said.

“The remit for the second half was to keep a clean sheet and take three points back to Bury.

“That was the attitude, application and resolve I wanted to see in my team and I certainly got that.

“Did they huff and puff a bit? Probably, but my side demonstrated the other side of football that I absolutely adore.”

Mayor was allowed the freedom of Whaddon Road to run at the Robins defence before planting a low strike into the bottom corner to open the scoring and claim his eighth goal of the season.

And Rose continued the breathless start by turning in Danny Nardiello’s low driven cross with his chest to end a goalless run that stretched back to November 22.

At that point the Shakers were well in control, but Hussey handed Cheltenham a lifeline when his under-hit pass to former captain Jim McNulty was cut out by Wes Burns.

Cameron made his only mistake of an otherwise peerless performance, leaving Johnstone unmarked after attempting to close down Burns and the Robins striker had time to pick his spot before rifling the ball home from 18 yards.

“You are always going to get a rise (when you appoint a new manager),” said Flitcroft. “It raised expectation levels and gave the crowd a lift.

“We wanted to quell that lift, which we did and for the first 20 minutes we were outstanding.

“We scored the two goals and then just took our foot off the gas.

“The goal they scored gave them hope and anyone you give hope to are dangerous.

“But they didn’t really threaten our goal again - there were times when they could have penetrated us but didn’t.

“I am delighted how we defended our box, delighted with the three points and we roll on again to next week.”

The whole team was buoyed by Mayor’s opening goal and it seemed Bury could score at will in those opening 20 minutes.

Rose hit the side netting from a tight angle almost immediately after the Shakers took the lead.

And Adams beat the offside trap on eight minutes but his improvised header from a lofted Kelvin Etuhu pass bounced just the wrong side of the far post.

With Mayor and Adams playing narrow in midfield, the responsibility to provide the width largely fell to full-backs Joe Riley and Chris Hussey.

Riley was the more productive of the two, providing a goal threat as well as a decent supply line.

The right-back was unlucky to miss the target with a shot after 15 minutes, but Rose soon doubled Bury’s advantage.

Then, as Flitcroft described it, his players just took their foot off the gas, changing tack from running through the Robins’ defence to trying to go around it.

Their more circumspect approach was prompted by Cheltenham’s goal.

Time and again, the Shakers players have been told to respect the point, and with the threat of a Robins comeback suddenly rearing its head they seemed to retreat back into their shell.

The defensive mindset ultimately worked, as Cheltenham’s chances to score were reduced to a speculative long-range shot from Burns at the start of the second half.

But Bury’s backline grew steadily more nervy as the game wore on.

On more than one occasion, Hussey, who had a poor game by his standards, had to rely on cover from McNulty on the left side of defence, although Riley and Cameron provided no such worries on the opposite flank.

Nevertheless, it started to become fraught, with no love lost between the two sides as Bury successfully repelled Cheltenham’s advances.

And emotions threatened to boil over when Nicky Adams reacted to a strong tackle from Eliot Richards, the pair both picking up a yellow card after their tussle sparked a spell of pushing and shoving that included members of both dugouts.

But Bury held firm to maintain their position just outside the play-off places on goal difference, while Cheltenham, who dropped into the relegation zone, now face a dire struggle to retain their place in the Football League.

CHELTENHAM TOWN: Carson; Vaughan, Taylor, Brown, Braham-Barrett; Burns, Matt Richards, Ferdinand (Hanks 75), Kotwica (Sterling-James 61); Eliot Richards, Johnstone (Manset 80).

Not used: Williams, Berry, Jones, Reynolds.

BURY: Pope 8; Riley 8, Cameron 9, McNulty 8, Hussey 5; Adams 6, Etuhu 7, Tutte 6 (Sedgwick 6 67), Mayor 7 (Hope 87); Rose 7, Nardiello 6 (Jones 6 74).

Not used: O'Brien, Lainton, Burgess.

Goals: Cheltenham Town 1 (Johnstone 24) Bury 2 (Mayor 4, Rose 17).

Yellow cards: Cheltenham Town – Burns 90+3, Eliot Richards 90+5. Bury – Rose 73, Riley 85, Adams 90+5.

Referee: Charles Breakspear.

Attendance: 2,375 (213 visiting).

Star man: Nathan Cameron – For the second successive game the 23-year-old captain sported a bloodied head as he walked off the pitch. But after helping to steer the Shakers to a clean sheet at Stevenage last Tuesday, the young centre-back led a rearguard action at Cheltenham to earn a vital three points. Cameron is certainly growing into the captain’s role and it is probably no coincidence that Bury’s backline have grown in confidence with his emergence as a leader. The influence of goalkeeper Nick Pope can also not be overstated – the Shakers have lost only once in seven matches since his arrival and conceded just five goals in the process.