Steve Cotterill praised the resilience of Forest Green’s players as the EFL’s bottom club won 3-0 at Crewe.

The Sky Bet League Two strugglers swept into a three-goal lead before the half-hour mark at Gresty Road and then defended the lead impressively in the second half, helped by some outstanding goalkeeping by Vicente Reyes.

Jordan Garrick netted twice and Jamie Robson added the third in a purple patch for the visitors during which Emmanuel Osadebe also hit a post.

“I am pleased with the win; we kept a clean sheet and scored three good goals,” said Cotterill.

“At the moment we’d be thankful for any win, so to win 3-0 at a team near the top is very good.

“We’ve had an incredibly difficult run since I have been here, but the lads were fantastic today.

“They were really determined and, while confidence is a word that hasn’t been high on the agenda this season, the determination and resilience we showed today was excellent.

“We’d won four games when I came in and now in a couple of months we’ve won five, so that is a huge upturn. It has taken a lot of hard work and I’m delighted for everyone at the club as there’s not been a lot to cheer this season.

“For Jordan Garrick to get on the scoresheet was good and I thought Christian Doidge and Jamie Robson were outstanding. Jamie set the tempo for us, so much so the boys gave him a round of applause in the dressing room afterwards.”

Garrick finished in the 13th-minute after Doidge capitalised on a mistake by Ed Turns and broke to slip clear his strike partner.

Forest Green then stunned the home crowd into boos and howling at their own players with two goals in as many minutes. Dominic Thompson’s corner was headed downwards by Ryan Inniss and Garrick bundled the ball over the line.

Robson then applied a glancing header to Charlie McCann’s cross to find the far corner for the third.

Crewe hit back after the interval and Reyes kept out an Elliott Nevitt volley at close range.

Charlie Kirk’s side-footed effort came back off the woodwork and looked to be over the line, but the officials waved away home appeals.

Forest Green remain three points from safety in League Two but they will be hopeful that a late charge in the 2023/24 season could see them produce an unlikely survival mission.