PAUL Mullin hopes his winning goal for Swindon Town against Port Vale on Saturday has put the pressure on for a return to the starting line-up.

Mullin came on with 10 minutes to go at the Energy Check County Ground and it proved a decisive substitution from manager David Flitcroft.

The 23-year-old showed an instinctive poacher’s finish to get on the end of Kyle Knoyle’s cushioned header from an Ollie Banks ball into the box, reacting quicker than the Vale defence to lift the ball beyond visiting keeper Ryan Boot and snatch a 3-2 win with two minutes to go.

Mullin has not started a match for Town since Boxing Day – a run of 11 successive games on the bench – and he is optimistic that his heroics will be rewarded with a more prominent role in the coming weeks.

“That’s the aim. The gaffer has brought forwards to the club and we all try to give each other competition,” said Mullin.

“I went on to make a difference, score a goal and make us more attacking.

“I saw the cross-field pass from Ollie and I saw Kyle getting ahead of the defender. As soon as he headed it, I thought I have to get across the defender and it was then just a touch to take it over the goalkeeper and thankfully it went in.

“Every goal is great, none more so than when you are not getting as much game time as you would like. It is even better to come on and score a winner for the boys.”

The two teams traded blows in an action-packed first half, with Marc Richards’ double for Town sandwiched between efforts from Vale’s Michael Tonge and Cristian Montano.

Saturday’s match was a seventh in 22 days for Flitcroft’s side and Mullin admitted it was far from straightforward for Town, so was thrilled to come out of it without any harm to their promotion push.

“It was a tough game,” said Mullin.

“We have had a lot of games tough in a short period of time against people in and around us. Today it was a little bit sluggish but it was about minds and hearts and we won the game, which was the main thing.

“It is 12 games to go now so it’s all about a 12-game season. The end game for us is to try to get over the line.”