Brian Wilson's eighth goal of the season mid-way through the second half earned Cheltenham Town a sixth away win of the season in Coca-Cola League Two and three valuable points against fellow play-off hopefuls Bristol Rovers.
In truth it was a scrappy game that looked destined for stalemate for a long time, although Cheltenham's defensive resilience was once again to the fore against one of the division's most prolific attacks.
When their chance came they took it - albeit with an element of fortune - but it was no more than Rovers had enjoyed last month when claiming two last gasp goals to win 3-2 at Whaddon Road. Honours even, then, in this season's M5 local derby matches.
Grant McCann returned to the starting line-up in a five-man midfield alongside the four players that faced Northampton Town last Saturday.
With Kayode Odejayi injured and Steve Guinan having only just recovered from illness, Damian Spencer returned to the XI as a lone striker.
Craig Armstrong had recovered sufficiently from illness to make the bench along with the other substitutes from the Northampton match.
There was a scrappy opening to the game as both sides tried to get to grips with a swirling wind and bumpy pitch at the Memorial Stadium.
A tidy piece of work from Rovers left-back Chris Carruthers on 16 minutes teed up Junior Agogo for the first real chance of the evening but the striker's swivel and firm shot from 18 yards was kept out by a smart save from Shane Higgs.
Lewis Haldane drilled over from distance moments later as Rovers began to get a foothold in the game after a quiet opening 20 minutes. Next it was centre-half Steve Elliott who glance-headed Stuart Campbell's corner from the right across the face of goal and Agogo, his usual lively self in the attacking third of the field, side-footed wide from 18 yards out after Richard Walker's neat turn on the half-hour.
Cheltenham struggled to find fluency in their passing and movement and despite packing the midfield with five, Spencer was the target of a series of long balls that were comfortably dealt with by the Rovers' back line.
Home team captain James Hunt dragged a 20-yard effort a couple of feet wide of the left upright with 33 minutes played; but it was the Robins who carved the best opportunity of the half shortly afterwards.
David Bird launched a long throw from the right touchline and Gavin Caines flicked-on to JJ Melligan unmarked 10 yards out. The Irishman wrapped his foot around the ball on the volley but goalkeeper Scott Shearer was on hand to turn the effort around his right post with a superb reflex save.
Jerry Gill released a sweet effort from the best part of 30 yards a minute from the break but the feintest of touches from John Finnigan could not direct the effort on target.
Rovers shaded a scrappy first half and finished it on the attack with some further good work in the wide positions but Shane Higgs did well to deal with the airborne threat.
Elliott became the first player to be booked by Premiership referee Peter Walton when he brought Brian Wilson down on the edge of the box five minutes after the re-start. Wilson took the free-kick himself and it bounced off the defensive wall and behind for a corner that came to nothing.
Still, Cheltenham had made a much more positive and cohesive start to the second half with more players ready to support Spencer.
Caines headed across the face of goal from a Mickey Bell cross but it was Higgs who was called upon to make the first save of the second period when he dived to push aside a low, left-footed drive from Agogo.
The Rovers defence was given a scare on 57 minutes when Spencer, who had put himself about with customary enthusiasm all evening, touched the ball beyond Shearer but with the angle rapidly narrowing he was unable to get a shot in on goal.
Spencer managed to hook it back into the middle with Wilson arriving at pace but the defensive leg of Elliott stretched out to tidy things up.
Agogo and Walker were proving a dangerous combination whenever Rovers got forward and Higgs was forced to push aside another shot from the former with just over an hour played.
Higgs then dived to palm away a close-range cross from Haldane and would have been relieved to see the ball bounce back off Hunt's chest and sit up nicely for him to gather.
The second half had been tight, evenly contested and of better quality than the first, and it suddenly took an eventful turn around the 70th minute mark when defender Christian Edwards went to ground under a challenge from Spencer with the home crowd baying for a free-kick. Referee Walton was having none of it, however, although Melligan played the ball out of play on the half-way line to allow Edwards to receive treatment.
Once Edwards had recovered, Rovers threw the ball back for Cheltenham possession - in the style that has become the norm in recent years - although instead of throwing the ball way downfield they put themselves under pressure by giving it straight to Gill just inside his own half.
The Robins worked the ball inside to Bird and his cross to the far post was met by the arriving Wilson. Although his shot lacked power, Shearer must have taken his eye off it because he allowed the ball to travel under his body and into the net for an unlikely but, from a Cheltenham point of view thoroughly welcome, 72nd minute goal.
Rovers attacked with vigour for the next few minutes although Cheltenham got men back behind the ball in numbers to try and snuff out the threat.
In fact, they almost grabbed a second goal on the counter-attack when Shearer palmed a thunderous shot from Wilson over the crossbar in the final minute of the 90.
With three minutes of time added the memories of last month's injury-time capitulation against Rovers were still fresh, although on this occasion there was to be no repeat and the Robins were able to travel home with three more valuable points tucked into the trunk of the team coach.
BRISTOL ROVERS (4-4-2): Shearer; Bass, Elliott, Edwards, Carruthers; Haldane (Forrester 74), Hunt, Disley, Campbell; Walker, Agogo. Subs not used: Ryan, Anderson, Book (Gk), Mullings
CHELTENHAM TOWN (4-5-1): Higgs; Gill, Caines, Townsend, Bell; Melligan (Bradshaw 83), Finnigan, Bird, McCann (Armstrong 66), Wilson; Spencer. Subs not used: Taylor, Guinan, Brown (Gk)
REFEREE: P. Walton (Northamptonshire)
ATTENDANCE: 6,885