Forest Green boss Mark Cooper hailed his side’s determination for getting the job done after going joint top of League Two with a 2-1 win at promotion rivals Carlisle

It took until the hour mark for Aaron Collins to fire the visitors ahead from the penalty spot.

Gime Toure levelled for the hosts but it was Cooper’s side who had the last laugh with Odin Bailey’s fantastic free-kick.

“It’s a big win for us,” said Cooper. “In terms of the situation of where both teams are, it’s an important win.

“It wasn’t our best performance but we were determined, we were gritty and we played some good stuff at times. We probably deserved to win and we’re pleased to win.”

Cooper bemoaned his side for lacking quality in the final third but he was delighted to get over the line against one of their closest challengers.

“We had lots of chances where one pass would lead to a gilt-edged opportunity,” reflected the Rovers boss.

“That last little bit of quality was missing again.

“It was a great bit of play for the penalty and that gave us the chance to get our noses in front and to build.

“Carlisle had to come at us and leave themselves open a little bit.

“They’re a very aggressive, strong, powerful team and it’s easy to see why they are where they are.

“Odin’s been practicing those free-kicks, he had one on Saturday where the keeper tipped it onto the woodwork.”

Chris Beech’s Cumbrians missed the chance to go top themselves but have three games in hand over leading pair Cambridge and Cooper’s charges.

And Beech said: “We’re not going to get it all our own way and this was a reminder of that.

“Forest Green are a good team and I was disappointed that we didn’t close them down as quickly and effectively as we’ve been doing in previous games.

“It’s disappointing but it’s now about how we react the next time we get out there.

“We made the first half harder for ourselves than it needed to be. We didn’t trust ourselves to make the right decisions at the right times.

“I reminded the players during the break that they have these opportunities to make something happen, but it has to come one game at a time. We can’t force things, we have to stick to the traits that have served us so well.

“The way we conceded the penalty was disappointing because we were on the attack and we had a good shape. We were stretched when they broke and we ended up giving them a leg-up.”