MATCH-WINNER Ben Tozer believes Newport County AFC overcame a “mental block” on Saturday by holding on to win 1-0 at Swindon Town.

County had lost a total of seven points in the closing stages of their previous three matches – draws against Port Vale and Accrington Stanley and a home defeat to Barnet.

And Tozer’s 76th-minute header at the County Ground put them 1-0 up for the fourth successive match in League Two.

Swindon’s Matt Preston headed against Joe Day’s bar in stoppage time but this time the Exiles held firm to claim all three points and Tozer believes the victory was important for the team’s morale.

“We’re very happy, especially after the last three games,” said the 27-year-old.

“They hit the bar at the end but sometimes you get a little bit of luck and I felt, after the last few games, we needed that.

“We played pretty well and I felt pretty comfortable throughout the whole game.

“I don’t think Joe actually had a save to make.

“And, apart from the last five or 10 minutes, it was the same story against Barnet, Accrington and Port Vale.

“Thankfully we managed to keep our concentration and see out the game this time and that will help us mentally.

“When you’re in that position again, after losing the points for the last three games, it is going to go through your head so to have got over that mental block is brilliant.”

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The win was County’s first in the league since October 14 and lifted them to ninth in the table, two points below the play-off places.

“It didn’t feel like it had been that long, until the Barnet game,” said Tozer.

“Before then we felt like we were doing OK, picking up points here and there, but it hit home after the Barnet game.

“We were devastated. It wasn’t good enough but we’ve rectified it and that was a great away performance, in my opinion.”

Next up for the Exiles is the FA Cup second round clash with Cambridge United at Rodney Parade on Sunday.

“We’ve got a bit of time now to get our heads on next Sunday, which is a big game for the club,” added Tozer.

“Hopefully we can get a win and get ourselves in the hat.”

And the midfielder is happy to fill in at the back again if needed, after dropping into central defence when Scot Bennett was forced off on Saturday.

Tozer started his career as a centre-back at Swindon back in 2007 and he excelled against his former club.

“I started here 10 years ago, which makes me feel old,” he said.

“And I was a centre-half, which I played for the majority of the game.

“It was nice to be back and nice to get the goal and even better when it’s a winner.

“I haven’t played at the back for a couple of years now and it took me a little while to get used to it but I felt quite comfortable in there.

“To be honest, in my position [in midfield] if a centre-half goes out of position I always sit in there so it’s quite normal for me to fill in there really.

“I’m happy to play anywhere. I’ve played probably six positions in my career so I’m happy to do that if required.”