NEVER before in the long history of Swindon Town Football Club can a goal have been such a perfect analogy for the 90 minutes of football played as Luke Norris’ bundled, messy, ugly goal that earned Town an important win over Forest Green Rovers on Saturday.

After enjoying a two-week break I expected David Flitcroft’s side to be chomping at the bit to get back into action.

But despite some glimpses of excitement it was another home performance lacking in any real quality.

Thankfully, the fans’ patience was rewarded with all three points, meaning Town now only sit two points away from the automatic promotion places, with a game in hand over most of their promotion rivals.

New loan recruit Ollie Banks made a good first impression as he picked up the man of the match award. Banks, the son of former Leicester midfielder Ian, displayed a good range of passing throughout the game and seemed to bring the best out of midfield partner James Dunne, who enjoyed one of his best games in a Town shirt.

Banks hasn’t been the only new arrival in this transfer window as both experienced frontman Marc Richards and on-loan striker Keshi Anderson joined the club on permanent deals.

Former Northampton striker Richards will provide some much needed competition for penalty king Norris in the side, and also look to create a new goalscoring partnership with the ever-improving Kaiyne Woolery up front.

An 18-month deal for a 35-year-old is an incredibly generous deal. Let’s hope he pays back his manager with goals in the coming weeks.

Swindon deciding to make Anderson’s loan move a permanent one is a great piece of business by the club.

The former Crystal Palace man has enjoyed a good season so far and it’s clear to see he has huge potential to become an important player for Town in the coming years.

After enjoying two wins to kick off 2018 it’s important Town don’t lose their winning momentum as they travel to Coventry City this weekend and get the chance to show they’re serious challengers for promotion from League Two by beating their rivals in the chase for a top three spot.