CENTRAL defender Matt Preston took great satisfaction from the ugly side of the game after Swindon Town claimed another impressive away win in League Two this season with a 1-0 success at Stevenage on Tuesday night.

Ollie Banks headed Town in front from a corner after just 16 minutes at Broadhall Way but other than that, chances were at a premium as wet and windy conditions sapped quality from the contest.

It was a relatively trouble free evening for the Swindon defence as they headed, blocked and cleared any prospective chances the hosts attempted to fashion out, with goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook making just one straightforward save throughout the 90 minutes.

After shipping three goals in each of their last two matches, Preston was delighted at how sturdy Town looked in a defensive capacity against Stevenage – a trait that was on display right through the team.

“In a perverse sense, they can be the best sort of games when you have to grind it out,” said Preston.

“It wasn’t a very pretty game and there wasn’t a lot of football played but they are the kinds of games where you need to come away with a 1-0 win or dig out a result and we did that.

“We have gone to a five at the back and have played unbelievably as a back five. We got the line right in comparison to last week where I felt we were too deep. We got it right and it allowed us to come to the ball rather than back-pedalling.

“A lot of it comes down to talking between the back five. You have to pass on a few words and stay switched on. If one person switches off all it takes is one ball and it could be 1-1, you never know.

“The front players have done unbelievable too. The ground they must have covered made our lives as a back five a lot easier than it should have been.”

Town are now up to sixth in the League Two table, just a point below Notts County in the third and final automatic promotion place.

David Flitcroft takes his side on the road again this weekend and they travel to another play-off contender, eighth-in-the-table Lincoln City, on Saturday.