MARTIN Ling was relieved to get, not only his first win as Town boss, but the team’s first win in 13 matches, as they saw off Scunthorpe 2-1 at the County Ground.

With rain rolling across the pitch and spirits getting damper with every misplaced pass, neither side impressed in a drab first half.

The mood at SN1 was improved by three goals in the second half, vitally two of those for the home side.

Raphael Branco, wearing the captain’s armband in the absence of Nathan Thompson and Yaser Kasim, finally turned the ball home after Joe Anyon had saved Jonathan Obika’s initial effort from a corner.

Nicky Ajose added a level of comfort to Swindon’s lead when he raced on to Ben Gladwin excellent through ball and placed the ball past Anyon to make it 2-0.

Jordan Clarke did make the final stages a bit hairy as he headed home Gary McSheffrey’s corner, but Town held on.

By the end Ling was just pleased to get the three points on the board and deliver the sodden fans something to head home with.

“You can feel the relief in the dressing. With the way we want to play the confidence is a big part of how we do things,” he told the local media.

“As the games add up it becomes harder and harder. It was a big win for us and something to build on.

“I think we were just about worth (the win). In the first half we looked very nervy, but the last 10 minutes of gave us a little bit of forward momentum.

“When you haven’t won in so many games (it was natural) that we looked a bit nervous on the ball.

“If you’re going to play that way, the hardest time to do it is when things are not going well.

"You’ve got to have a firm belief in your philosophy, a firm belief in what you’re trying to do, but the hardest time to do it is when you’ve not won a game in 13.

“People start to lose belief (in the philosophy), but I don’t think the players did and we reaffirmed it in the last 10 days or so. It’s good to see (the players) get just desserts.

“By getting the win it gives them a little bit more confidence going into Fleetwood next week.

“I’d love to sit here and say it was free-flowing and we controlled the game, but we had to grind it out. We had to had to have a belief in what we were doing and stick to it.

“We got a bit nervous towards the end, but we haven’t won in 13 games so it was bound to be.”

The Swindon Advertiser was not permitted to attend Ling’s post-match press duties.