SWINDON Supermarine manager Lee Spalding hailed the heroics of goalkeeper Josh Hill as they got back to winning ways in Southern League Division One West on Saturday with a 2-0 success away at Paulton Rovers.

Matt Coupe’s header gave Marine an early lead in Somerset but Paulton were given an instant chance to draw level when they were awarded a penalty following a handball in the box by Mike Hopkins.

Dale Evans stepped up looking to restore parity but Hill pulled off a sublime stop to turn away his spot-kick and from there, Marine were able to hang onto their 1-0 lead until the break.

The two teams remained closely matched in the second half but Marine were finally able to kill off Rovers with 15 minutes to play when Aaron Woodley doubled the advantage to seal the win and provide the perfect response to the 3-1 defeat away at AFC Totton in midweek.

“I am really pleased to get the win because it was a very competitive game,” said interim boss Spalding.

“We started well and got a goal from Matt Coupe but then Paulton got a penalty just afterwards, which was a bit disappointing, but the goalkeeper made a great save to get us off the hook.

“It was massive because it raised our spirits a little bit and dampened theirs at the same time.

“The order of the day was to get a clean sheet. We worked on it in training to make sure we were hard to beat again after the disappointment in midweek of conceding three goals.

“It was a massive three points and a massive clean sheet as that is what we are basing our success on.”

The victory sees Marine climb back up to fourth in the table, although the play-off picture remains just as complex as it had been at the start of the day, with just six points separating the nine clubs still in the hunt for the four positions behind the top two.

Spalding added: “It wasn’t a classic game by any means.

“We didn’t play great flowing football but the players all fought for each other and all scrapped for everything.

“A lot of them won their individual battles all over the pitch, and that’s why we came out on top.”

Marine are back in action on Tuesday night when they host mid-table side Yate Town.