Cheltenham maintained their promotion push by coming from behind to claim a hard-fought 1-1 draw against League Two’s basement club Grimsby

Lenell John-Lewis opened the scoring with a tap-in in the eighth minute before William Boyle hit back later in the first half.

Sam Habergham and Harry Clifton took aim from distance inside the opening five minutes, but Grimsby did not have to wait too long for an opener.

It came when Stefan Payne spotted and exploited a gap in Cheltenham’s defence before squaring to John-Lewis, who did the rest.

Clear opportunities were few and far between for the rest of the first half, but the promotion contenders did manage to get back on terms, via a familiar route.

Ben Tozer launched one of his trademark long throws into the Grimsby box where Boyle planted a firm header into the bottom corner.

Grimsby’s James Hanson fired wide from a promising position after the restart.

It was Cheltenham who looked most likely to make something happen, though, as substitute George Lloyd passed up a golden chance late on.