SWINDON Town manager Richie Wellens said his side’s 1-0 win at home to Stevenage was ‘nothing more than they deserved’ despite only going ahead as the board was raised for added time.

Eoin Doyle’s excellent touch and volley as the clock struck 90 settled a largely turgid encounter in which the hosts struggled to create many meaningful chances against a disciplined Stevenage defence.

Goalkeeper Steven Benda had little to do shots-wise, but reacted quickly on a couple of occasions to diffuse any potential Stevenage chance while Anthony Grant was the standout player in midfield, breaking up play and ensuring Town would not suffer that sucker-punch goal that so often ruins results.

Wellens acknowledged his players could have been a little more adventurous in the final third, but the 39-year-old said patience was his side’s greatest asset as a simple cross and finish won them the game in the end.

Following the 1-0 victory that ended a run of five midweek fixtures without a win, the Town manager said: “It was nothing more than we deserved.

“We had 73 per cent possession, but we could have had more shots and more crosses.

“I think we were patient, and we had to be, coming up against a team that play five at the back and don’t really move anywhere.

“We put some really good crosses in, but they had three big centre backs who just dealt with everything.

“We did stay patient, but we could have moved it quicker in the first half.”

In front of a scattered crowd at the County Ground, the atmosphere was often filled with frustration as slow build-up play and needless errors restricted chances for momentum to build on the pitch and in the stands.

Despite that, Wellens said several of his team looked ‘like their old selves again' with notable mentions to the returning Michael Doughty, strike-pair Doyle and Jerry Yates as well as Lloyd Isgrove.

Wellens said: “The players feed off the crowd, and it was a bit tentative from the crowd.

“Players then had that little extra touch and played a little bit safer because they can sense the edginess in the stadium.

“But every credit to the players because we kept going, we kept being positive and we kept moving them side to side.

“I thought we had players who started to look their old selves again.

“I thought Isgrove was brilliant – he put four or five dangerous balls in and got past his man on more or less every occasion that he ran at him.

“I thought Doyle and Yates were outstanding and I thought Doughty looked like he was back to the old Michael Doughty.”