GREAT confidence will be taken from Swindon’s second half performance at Meadow Lane against Notts County this afternoon as Town’s five-game winless run ended with a hard fought 2-1 victory over Harry Kewell’s men.

Impact substitute Steven Alzate came off the bench to draw Town level following Kane Hemmings’ first half strike, which put the home side ahead.

Matt Taylor’s cross 10 minutes from time took a fortuitous rebound in the box to then hand Town the lead, something which manager Phil Brown believes can be used as a catalyst to inspire confidence moving forward when facing Colchester United next weekend.

Brown said: “We’ll take spirit and character from that performance, things you can’t really measure.

“We must be top of the table regarding getting out of certain situations in games.

“They (Notts County) caught us out in the first five or 10 minutes with long ball tactics.

“The philosophy of Harry Kewell, which I talked about before the game, wasn’t evident in the first 10 minutes.

“We got deeper and deeper and consequently were wide open from minute one. Then we got a grip of the midfield, to a certain extent.

“The goal didn’t come against the run of play, but at a moment where their attacks in the first 20 minutes lulled. We got into the game, probably had the best chance of the game, and Martin Smith had a free header from a corner.

“We could’ve found ourselves a goal up, so going into half time a goal down was difficult because I was looking at a group of players that were suffering confidence wise.

“You can’t put confidence into players, they get it from situations, they get it from games and training.”

Only a 10-minute spell between minutes 25 and 35 disguised what would’ve been a below-par first half performance by Town.

Martin Smith and Jak McCourt had efforts blocked while Doughty’s corner was met by an unmarked Smith, who directed his effort over Fitzsimons’ crossbar.

The second half proved a stark contrast though, as a lacklustre Notts County appeared to have blown all energy in the game’s opening hour.

Poor passing and a lack of urgency moving forward were traits exploited by Town, who remain six points short of the play-off frame despite today’s win.

Brown said: “Today they got confidence from their second half performance. It’s not an 11-man game, it’s a team game and substitutes make a difference.

“I thought the substitutes made a massive difference to the game, even though we could’ve gone behind further.

“It was an open game, and Notts County are dangerous – they have four strikers that moved and we had to deal with them.

“But once we passed them we were at their back four, I thought they had a weakness down their right side and we tried to exploit that.

“Steven Alzate in midfield added a bit of calmness on the ball. Consequently, we got a real foothold in the game and went on to win it.”