Forest Green Rovers moved up to second place in the League Two standings after a hard-fought victory against fellow promotion hopefuls Carlisle United on Saturday afternoon.

Jamille Matt once again found his name on the score sheet as the forward put the hosts ahead from close range after 76 minutes.

Carlisle, as expected, proved to be difficult opponents but Rovers’ dogged back line proved vital in keeping a clean sheet.

Forest Green boss Mark Cooper was delighted with the result and admitted that he knew facing Carlisle would be an arduous task.

Speaking to BBC Radio Gloucestershire, he said: “Carlisle have had a brilliant run.

“They’re a difficult team to play against and to keep a clean sheet against them takes some doing.

“You can see that they’re direct and they want to get the ball as quickly as they can into your penalty area.

“To be a successful team you need to be able to grind out results and we did that.”

Matt was able to provide the vital goal after he found himself with the ball at his feet inside Carlisle’s six-yard box.

Cooper was once again pleased with the 31-year-olds performance, as he said: “I thought Jamille (Matt) was a real important player for us today.

“With the wind in the second half, we had to rely on Jamma to be a nuisance on our goalkeeper’s kicks to stop the ball coming back and he did that great.”

The win sees Rovers just one point behind league leaders Newport and Cooper said the victory would benefit his players greatly.

“I think it just increases the belief in the players that if we roll our sleeves up and work hard and defend for our lives at times, we might get a bit of luck,” he added.

“I think it shows them how well thought of they are from other teams that another team has come and changed their shape.”

Liam Kitching was once again left out of the match day squad and Cooper remained coy about the situation

“I’ve got no more news.

“There are various resolutions to it but I can’t solve it. I’m not disappointed, no, I’m pretty philosophical about it really," he said.

Forest Green next face a trip to sixth placed Exeter City on Boxing Day.