A SECOND half strike by Lee Phillips might have given manager Steve Claridge his maiden victory over Newport County last night, but the Terras boss admitted his side's 2-1 success was hardly a vintage performance.

A bumper Wessex Stadium crowd of 1,453 saw the gritty hosts clinch the Dr Martens Premier Division points thanks to the former Plymouth Argyle star's 63rd minute effort.

Midfielder Ian Hutchinson had earlier given Weymouth the lead from a sensational free-kick, only for the Welshmen to hit back within a minute through Neil Davis.

But while Claridge felt the Terras struggled at times, he was relieved to bag that crucial first win on what was a big night for the club.

He said: "It's a relief because it's important to get a win under your belts as soon as possible. Having said that, we certainly made life difficult for ourselves tonight.

"We played exceptionally well on Saturday up at Hednesford but only got a draw when we should have won. Our performance tonight though left a little bit to be desired but the important thing is getting a win in front of what was a fantastic crowd.

"Newport set their stall out to sit and try and hit us on the counter and they made it very difficult for us to break them down. We worked very hard for the first half an hour and probably deserved the lead from Ian's free-kick which was a brilliant strike

"If you keep it tight for ten minutes after going ahead, you will generally go on and win the game. But we stupidly switched off after scoring and conceded straight away which put us back to square one.

"Jason Matthews saved us on a couple of occasions and we struggled to create any major openings after that because we didn't have any real width in the side and we tended to be a bit isolated up front at times.

"But the change at half time, when we threw on young John Lamb on the left wing, definitely helped us and things improved after the break. In the end, we probably did just about enough to win it."

One concern for Claridge is on the injury front - Lee Phillpot missed out through a thigh strain, keeper Matthews hurt his back and goal hero Hutchinson limped off with an ankle injury.

"A major worry at the moment is that we seem to be picking up quite a few injuries which isn't helping our cause because we haven't got a squad that can cope with loads of people on the sidelines.

"Losing Lee before the game was a big blow because he was excellent up at Hednesford and Ian has taken a hefty whack on his ankle. It's not an ideal position to be in because games come thick and fast this time of year," he said.

* A crew from television station Channel Five were filming at the Wessex Stadium last night.

Footage from the game and behind the scenes at the club is due to air on the station's late night football show hosted by pundit Jonathan Pearce tomorrow night.