SWINDON Town head coach Ben Garner admitted his team made their 3-1 victory over Hartlepool United “a little more difficult than it needed to be” at times but was pleased to emerge with three points.

After surviving a controversial offside call in the first half, Town scored three times after the break through Jonny Williams, Tyreece Simpson, and Jack Payne to come away with a rare home victory – just the club’s second in the league this term.

Matt Daly’s equaliser on the hour threatened to continue an underwhelming stretch of results at the County Ground, but Town responded with style to move up to third in League Two.

While Garner admitted his team’s display was not perfect, the Town head coach was delighted with many other aspects and praised his team for their resilience in coming back to win.

Garner said: “We probably made that a little bit more difficult than it needed to be with the spell after we scored and conceding the goal.

“But it was great to respond and go back ahead, and nice to get the third there at the end. We probably could have had one or two more as well in the closing stages.

“It’s a pleasing result, there was lots of really positive elements to our play and some fantastic football as well as some fantastic individual performances. Credit to the group for a really good win.”

Despite having not won in three league games prior, Hartlepool looked confident enough on Tuesday night and went toe to toe with their counterparts from Wiltshire at various points in the contest.

Yet, Town’s superior fitness and patient playing style paid dividends in the end as Simpson and Payne helped to snatch all three points.

Garner said: “Hartlepool came in and sat with a back five, and they made it very difficult for us to break them down in the first half.

“I thought they were very diligent with their shape, very organised, but we worked the ball really well.

“What that does is tire the opposition out, and that can be an element in the second half combined with how hard we work on our physical fitness levels.

“If you look at the end, Kaine Kesler-Hayden is breaking through on goal, Jack Payne with his run and finish for the goal – that shows we’re still strong in 90-plus minutes and proves our fitness levels.”