NEWPORT County AFC manager Warren Feeney praised his side’s character as two goals from Scott Boden finally gave them a win over Morecambe.

County had lost all five of their previous encounters with the Shrimps but Boden opened the scoring after just 56 seconds and volleyed in a second on 69 minutes after Shaun Miller had levelled for the hosts.

The win means the Exiles are now seven points above the relegation places in League Two as they shook off the disappointment of Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at Leyton Orient.

“I’m delighted,” said Feeney afterwards. “I knew it was going to be very tough up here but, like I said before, I don’t believe in hoodoos.

“The character that we showed today and over the past few games has really pleased me.

“We put on a fantastic performance the other night and got nothing but that’s gone now.

“It was a great effort today in difficult conditions. We knew it was going to be a tough game because they were on the back of a defeat in the week and I know what [Morecambe boss] Jim [Bentley] is about.

“He’s a fantastic character, he’s strong and he would have wanted a response from his players.

“We got off to a fantastic start but after we conceded we knew they were going to throw everything at us.

“They’re a good side with a very good front three or four players who are very tricky.

“They get into great positions but I thought we coped well.

“We put in a great shift today,” he added. “Probably a couple of our players weren’t at their best.

“Rodders [Alex Rodman] wasn’t at it but he produced one bit of magic and Bodes sticks it away.

“That’s what we’ve got to believe in. I was pleased with them but the most important thing was to get the win because, the position we’re in, it’s about results.

“Sometimes you play well and you lose games but they fought for each other today, they dug in when they had to and they defended very well.

“I brought Darren Jones in and Andrew Hughes alongside him looks as if he’s come on leaps and bounds in two games.”

County now face three home games in February, starting against Barnet next Saturday.

“We’ll enjoy it and it’s good that we’ve got no game in midweek so we can recover and next Saturday we will go again,” said Feeney.