Goals either side of half-time from Sean Long and Alfie May earned Cheltenham a 2-0 home win over Shrewsbury.

In the final minute of a tightly-contested opening period devoid of clear-cut chances, Long poked home from close range to break the deadlock after a long throw from Will Ferry was not dealt with by the Shrews.

Less than a minute into the second half, Ryan Jackson delivered a low cross from the right that was clipped against the crossbar by May, who then followed up to double the Robins’ advantage.

The only save of note before Long’s opener was from Harry Burgoyne, who flew to tip over Lewis Freestone’s header from Jackson’s long throw in the 44th minute.

Ryan Broom had earlier thumped an effort just over from the edge of the box.

At the other end, Luke Southwood was largely untroubled in the Cheltenham goal and Dan Nlundulu was close to making it 3-0 in the 78th minute, rolling a shot just past the far post.