Johnson stars as City win at a canter

In the town that coined the dreaded word chav - short for Cheltenham average - City turned in a glorious performance that was anything but.

The snobs of Cheltenham Ladies College came up with the dismissive nickname to describe the so-called common locals.

But the high school high-brows could hardly look down their refined noses at the quality on offer from the visitors on Saturday.

Ignore the scoreline, which suggests it was nip and tuck. In the shadows of the famous racecourse, City won at a canter.

Cheltenham will point to the controversial dismissal of skipper John Finnigan as a crucial moment of the game - but it was no turning point.

Yes, the home side were leading at the time but that was only thanks to a goal handed on a plate by a sloppy clearance and they had spent most of the opening half hour repelling a blue tide.

The third-minute setback was a shocker and hardly the birthday gift the recalled Richard Edghill was thinking about.

Instead of heading Brian Wilson's cross out of danger, he misdirected it straight back across the penalty area to Kayode Odejayi, who made no mistake.

Odejayi was a thorn in City's side for most of the game and created their best chance of a second goal for substitute David Bird but Nathan Doyle denied him with an athletic clearance off the line.

Jerry Gill had done the same to thwart David Graham at the other end, one of a string of chances City carved but failed to take in a dominant first half.

Graham, living up to his manager's backing, was a constant menace to the Cheltenham back four and his link-up play with Dean Windass gave their young markers plenty to worry about.

They were supported by a hungry, energetic midfield who went forward at every opportunity; Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Steve Schumacher driving through the middle, while Lee Holmes and Jermaine Johnson probed the flanks.

JJ, once again, was a revelation - and a world away from the home winger of the same name. He scored one and could have had two or three more.

Pity poor Craig Armstrong, the man given the thankless task of trying to keep him quiet. Armstrong had a miserable time at City but nothing like as miserable as the 90 minutes of torture he was put through by the jack-in-the-box Jamaican wide man.

The defender appeared to have a set-to with Colin Todd after the final whistle. He was disappointed with the way things went at Valley Parade but his frustration with his one-time gaffer was surely based more on his inability to get in the same post-code as the Bantams right winger.

And I've got bad news for Armstrong and the left back union in League One - Johnson reckons that he can still improve in the coming months.

"I know I can do more than that," he said afterwards. "It was a very good game but I was feeling a bit tired at the end.

"I've wanted to score more goals and I was very pleased but I could have had two more with a bit of luck. Armstrong said to me afterwards that I'd played well, so that was nice to hear.

"Everything felt right but I've got to come again next week. I'm looking forward to Doncaster now and I'll try hard to get another goal."

City have covered a fair amount of motorway in the past three weeks and they will welcome the short hop to Belle Vue tomorrow night. The spirits will be even higher after an away win that, somehow, took a long time coming.

Johnson, Windass, Bridge-Wilkinson, Schumacher and David Wetherall all had chances to level before half-time.

But City were proving their own worst enemies by snatching at shots, although the skipper can count himself unlucky to see his header unwittingly blocked by the legs of goalkeeper Scott Brown.

It was Brown's first appearance since January - and first in the league at home ever.

But City ensured the stand-in stopper was given plenty of work to make up for all that waiting.

Regular keeper Shane Higgs was the latest addition to Cheltenham's lengthening injury list during the week - and their problems increased with the departure of captain Finnigan just after the half-hour mark.

The Wakefield-born battler had already clashed with Windass and ended in a tangle which referee Clive Penton decided to ignore.

But he could not turn a blind eye when the pair squared up again. Windass, using all his guile and experience, looked to be the instigator with a grab at his opponent's nether regions.

Whether it hurt or not, Finnigan instantly responded with a nasty elbow straight into the striker's mush. It was right in front of fourth official John Farries, who called Penton across when the ball went out of play.

Windass was shown his first yellow card of the campaign and Finnigan saw red. The crowd howled and boss John Ward was steaming but they could have no argument.

A week earlier, almost to the exact minute, Port Vale had been reduced to ten men and City seized control. With the numerical advantage again, Todd's troops eyed a similar outcome.

But first they had to claw back that early goal and it would have got considerably worse if the super-cool Doyle had not saved their bacon with a flying block to keep out Bird's first touch.

Cheltenham's aim, though, was survival, with Odejayi left to forage alone up front as the remaining red shirts packed in behind.

Yet City had no difficulty cutting them open time and again. Twice in the opening minutes of the second half they came within an ace of levelling through Windass and Graham.

And when Johnson's shot-cum-cross was fingered round the post by Brown, it was becoming an afternoon of total frustration.

But justice was done from the corner as Mark Bower again won the flick-on and Graham stooped unmarked to nod in from five yards.

It was the Scot's second goal in successive games - and he nearly had another with a thundering first-time swing from the edge of the box which smacked against the bar and bounced down just beyond the reach of Windass.

Brown managed to scramble away a Doyle cross and Bridge-Wilkinson was just wide with a near-post nod after being set up by the unstoppable Johnson.

City's play was irresistible and the home crowd were reduced to bating the referee - and Donovan Ricketts when he tried to grab the ball off supporters intent on time-wasting.

But Cheltenham could not hope to hang on until the end and their resistance was broken with 20 minutes left - and what a goal to win it.

Windass can claim the assist for laying the ball off just inside home territory but it was really all about Johnson.

Armstrong would have needed a motorbike to catch JJ as he zoomed away, eating up the yards before cutting into the box and firing across Brown.

Windass could have had a third but opted to pass in front of goal rather than shoot. And Cheltenham almost sprung a shock with half-chances on the break from Odejayi and Melligan.

But they were no more than blips as JJ set off on yet another stepover-fest, dumping Armstrong in a quivering heap and drawing the keeper, only to drag his shot wide.

But as he says, there is more to come. Fasten your seatbelts.