FULL-TIME: Southend 2, Robins 0
Cheltenham Town slipped deeper into relegation trouble with a 2-0 defeat at Southend United.
Both goals came from on-loan Charlton Athletic front man Joe Pigott in the first half, leaving the Robins perilously close to the drop zone.
Boss Paul Buckle made two changes to the side beaten 3-1 at home by Burton Albion on Saturday.
In came Eliot Richards for his first start up front with Denny Johnstone as Mathieu Manset dropped out, while Crystal Palace loanee Jake Gray was preferred to Matt Richards in the left midfield role.
Liverpool youngster Lloyd Jones missed out through injury and Lee Vaughan was left in the stand, with Omari Sterling-James and Jack Deaman promoted to substitutes' bench.
Cheltenham carved out the first chance of the night when Jordan Wynter set up Richards, who travelled into the box, but his shot crashed into the side netting.
But Southend soon took control and opened the scoring in the ninth minute when John White's cross was met by Jake Cassidy.
His effort was well blocked by Trevor Carson, but Pigott followed up with a simple finish to give Phil Brown's side the lead.
Carson made a diving save to keep out Michael Timlin's shot in the 22nd minute, but he could do nothing about Southend's second in the 34th minute.
After a foul by skipper Matt Taylor, Ben Coker's free-kick was headed in powerfully by Pigott for another simple goal that left the travelling fans shaking their heads in disbelief.
Southend nearly netted a third before half-time, with White's stopping header from Coker's cross rebounding off the left post with Carson beaten.
Cheltenham's best effort of the night game two minutes into the second half when Taylor's header from Gray's corner was cleared off the line by Timlin.
The game fizzled out, with Cheltenham showing a minor improvement after the break but Southend goalkeeper Daniel Bentley was only called into action once, scooping away an attempt from substitute Zack Kotwica in the 82nd minute.
Cheltenham return to action at home to Bury on Saturday afternoon (3pm).
Southend United (4-4-2): Bentley; White (c), Binnom-Williams, Thompson, Coker (Barrett 67); Â Atkinson, Leonard, Timlin, Payne (Weston 68); Cassidy (Hurst 78), Pigott. Subs not used: Smith (gk), Corr, Coulthirst, Deegan.
Cheltenham Town (4-4-2): Carson; Berry, Brown, Taylor (c), Braham-Barrett (M Richards 67); Burns, Wynter (Hanks 47), Ferdinand, Gray (Kotwica 63); E Richards, Johnstone. Subs not used: H Reynolds (gk), Deaman, Sterling-James, Manset,
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Referee: Carl Berry.
Attendance: 5,013 (49 away).