JUSTIN Edinburgh never had much luck at Highbury as a player with Tottenham.

But the Fleetwood version of Highbury Stadium proved to be a happy hunting ground for the Newport County manager last night.

The Exiles ended a miserable run of 12 league games without a win in spectacular style and offered hope that there may be life in this season yet.

The recalled Sam Foley was the star of the show with a fabulous hat-trick but this was a magnificent team performance.

New boss Edinburgh stressed after Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat to Southport that his side were in a relegation fight but they certainly didn’t look like candidates for the drop at Fleetwood’s swanky £4m arena.

The big-spending Cod Army are promotion favourites but, despite taking a first minute lead, they were outclassed by Edinburgh’s Exiles all night.

The hosts took just 52 seconds to break the deadlock and, just as against Southport, it was a set-piece that proved County’s downfall.

A corner was flicked on at the near post and Gareth Seddon had the easiest of tasks to slam home from five yards out.

It seemed to signal another long night for the travelling Exiles fans but Glyn Thompson hardly had another save to make and County were level on 14 minutes thanks to a huge slice of luck.

There looked to be very little danger after home goalkeeper Scott Davies gathered a tame Elliott Buchanan shot but somehow he let the ball squirm from his grasp.

It trickled through his legs as if in slow motion and Foley did very well to slide in front of his marker and stab it into the net.

It may have been massively fortuitous but the goal sparked the visitors into life with the next 10 minutes containing more attacking threats from Edinburgh’s side than in 90 minutes against Southport.

Key to that was Foley, who was at the heart of everything and causing the home defence all sorts of problems.

Even the much-maligned Craig McAllister was a revitalised figure and he was instrumental in the second and third goals.

The former Crawley striker used his strength to hold off Robert Atkinson and was then brought down by the defender in the area.

Danny Rose confidently sent Davies the wrong way from the spot to give his side a shock lead on 23 minutes.

And just six minutes later County were in dreamland as McAllister brought the ball down expertly for Foley to fire into the bottom corner of the net with a fantastic half volley from just outside the box.

County were on fire in the Lancashire rain with Rose putting a free-kick just over the bar from 25 yards and Foley attempting an outrageous chip from a similar distance.

And it was more of the same after the break as Foley bagged his third and County’s fourth on 59 minutes, driving past Davies and into the bottom left hand corner of the net from just outside the area.

If that goal didn’t seal the three points, Seddon’s second yellow card for a challenge on Andrew Hughes certainly did.

And just as important as the result as far as the season as a whole is concerned was the manner of the performance.

The confidence was coursing through the County players’ veins in the second half with Tommy Doherty and Darryl Knights just as influential as Rose and the imperious Foley.

Edinburgh’s job now is to ensure that this result isn’t a one-off, just as the 4-0 beating of Hayes & Yeading proved to be for his predecessor Anthony Hudson.

Fleetwood: Davies, Beeley, McNulty, Milligan, Brown, Goodall, Mangan (Brodie, 52), McGuire, Seddon, Atkinson (Pond, 32), Vardy

Subs not used: Clancy, Hamilton, Brown

Booked: McGuire, Seddon

Sent-off: Seddon (second yellow)

County: Thompson, Hughes, Rodgers, Warren, Hatswell, Doherty, Rose, Foley (Miller, 90) Buchanan, McAllister (Jarvis, 58), Knights (Rogers, 75)

Subs not used: Jardim, Swann (GK)

Booked: Hatswell

Referee: Richard Wigglesworth

Attendance: 1,277

Argus star man: Foley