DEBUTANT Cameron Belford’s first involvement as a Swindon Town player will go a long way to endearing him to the fans if he is to stay beyond the end of his short-term deal with the club.

Deputising for his younger brother Tyrell, dismissed moments earlier for hauling down Chris Dagnall in the box, Cameron produced a fine stop to deny Lloyd James from the penalty spot.

It was the first of a number of stops made by the elder of Town’s goalkeeping brothers. He was unlucky to concede a second with his defence failing to clear after he had saved James’ original shot, allowing Dagnall to pounce.

Aside from some rather rudimentary distribution Cameron barely put a foot wrong. Reflecting on his first professional appearance since April 2013 the stopper was even-keeled.

“I’ve had worse days, I suppose,” he told the local media. “It’s not nice for Ty and it was something we had to deal with. I’ve been in that situation before. I had a discussion with Steve Hale on the bench, we decided to go that way and we saved it.

“We get a lot of information on penalty takers. I tried to delay it as much as I could, making him wait to take the penalty.”

“These things happen in football, we’ve had to deal with it and the lads have shown tremendous character in the second half.

“We’ve always got the players capable of getting something out a game, whether we’re down to 10 men or not.

“They pushed us all the way because they’re fighting for their lives. They worked hard and it was a difficult game. All credit to the lads for getting a result today.”

For many of Town’s young squad the next few weeks will be a new experience as they embark on their play-off bid. With Tyrell now suspended for the semi-final Cameron’s experience could be an unexpected bonus.

“I’ve been involved in the play-offs with Bury. I played for Southend in the League Two play-offs and we played Crewe, who were the eventual winners,” he added.

“It’s a great experience. We’ve worked hard all season and now we need to make sure we kick on to make the most of it and make sure Wembley is at the end of it.

“The two legs come thick and fast and then there’s a log break to the final. Mentally, it’s an extra month and it could be hard on players but you have to be mentally switched on.”