Ian Evatt hailed a moment of magic from Kyle Dempsey as his fine finish earned Wanderers another vital win.
Dempsey struck 10 minutes from time with a perfectly-placed strike into the bottom corner from 25 yards out.
The midfielder’s fourth goal of the season finally broke Cheltenham’s resistance as Wanderers did what was needed to chalk up a 1-0 victory and a fourth win in five games.
“It’s not always going to be nice, it’s not always going to be attractive but you’ve just got to find a way and Demps produced a moment of magic to win us the game,” said Evatt, whose side remains fifth in the League One table.
“That one goal was the all-important moment and Demps’ moment of quality was excellent.
“It wasn’t easy. They made it really difficult for us. The game was so disrupted, the ball was very rarely in play.
“Second half it was all us but against a low block and a team that sacrifices (the ball) it’s really tough.
“I said to the players at half time sometimes when you’re winning football matches consistently you just have to find a way.
“I’m not saying the performance was bad. There was lots to like about how we kept the ball and moved the ball.
“At times there are nine or 10 of their players in their box, so it’s tough to break down but we stayed patient and kept believing.”
While Cheltenham looked to run down the clock at every opportunity, Evatt was left frustrated that wing-back Conor Bradley was booked for time wasting to collect a 10th yellow card of the season and an immediate two-match ban.
“Conor gets booked for time wasting. I’m not sure he did. He just threw the ball back to Toaly who was taking the throw-in,” said the Wanderers’ boss.
“After everything else that had gone on in the game. Is that consistent? Probably not and we’re going to miss him. It’s unfortunate.”
Bradley – one of Wanderers’ stand-out performers – will now miss next Saturday’s trip to Peterborough United and a home game against MK Dons.
Peterborough are currently one place outside the play-off zone, nine points behind Wanderers with three games in hand.
Wanderers, meanwhile, moved to within two points of third-placed Ipswich Town with the pace inside the top six unrelenting.
“It’s competitive football. The top teams tend to always win. All we can do is focus on our job and our role, winning points,” said Evatt.
“Racking up points is pivotal for us. We’ve just got to keep our heads down, keep working hard and knocking out the wins as best we can.”