Jon Stead bags a brace to earn County victory

Jon Stead scored twice for Notts County as they beat Cheltenham 3-2 in a lively Sky Bet League Two encounter.It took Stead's brace and a strike by Jonathan Forte to beat the resilient Robins, who levelled twice through Danny Wright and Harry Pell.The visitors were ahead after four minutes as a ball by Carl Dickinson left Forte with enough space to fire a half-volley beyond Russell Griffiths in the home goal.The lead did not last long though as the impressive Pell whipped in a cross for Wright to equalise with a close-range header in the 24th minute.County were back in front four minutes before the break when Stead cut inside two defenders to direct a curving shot into the net from inside the area.Pell had the hosts level again 10 minutes after the restart, controlling a knocked-down free-kick on his chest before firing home.Straight from kick-off, the visitors grabbed the lead for a third time as Stead squeezed a shot beneath Griffiths to make it 3-2 with 56 minutes played.Substitutes James Dayton and Billy Waters both went close but Cheltenham could not find an equaliser.