RICHIE Wellens praised the impact of Swindon Town’s substitutes following this afternoon’s 2-1 win over Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park.

Goals from Marc Richards and Michael Doughty in the first half handed Wellens’ promotion chasing side a two-goal advantage at half-time.

But that was quickly halved when James Norwood cleanly placed Ollie Banks’ well-timed pass from the right in Lawrence Vigouroux’s bottom left corner.

Three points were almost surrendered as Rovers’ impact substitute Connor Jennings fluffed his lines twice in front of goal before a certain calmness about Town’s defensive performance in the concluding 20 minutes secured all three points.

Wellens called on new recruit Danny Rose, right-back Kyle Knoyle and Matt Taylor in the second half as Town switched to 4-5-1 to deny Rovers the chance to equalise.

The composure displayed at the end of the second half caught Wellens’ eye, who has cut the gap between Town and the play-off frame to just four points.

Wellens said: “Tranmere’s goal didn’t come out of the blue, because we were under a bit of pressure. Sometimes you have to tip your hat.

“It was a great pass (from Ollie Banks). Because of the weight of that pass, it was hard for us to defend.

“The substitutes came on and helped us to manage the game and slow it down for us.

“The second half, we gave away free kick after free kick. The referee got a bit of abuse from the crowd, and we just couldn’t get any momentum in the second half.

“Things went against us – we shouldn’t let things like that get to us. I can’t remember Tranmere creating too many chances.

“They one effort that went over the bar, and the finish for their goal was brilliant.”

It proved to be a game of two halves, with Town edging possession and shot stats marginally.

The result means Town have won all four of their games against promoted teams Macclesfield and Tranmere.

But their status as a recently promoted side meant little to Wellens, who knew his men were in for a tough second half following a below-par first half display from the hosts.

He added: “It was a game of two halves.

“We were very good in the first half and could’ve scored a couple more – we were a threat on the counter and a threat on the ball.

“We can still get better on the ball to create more chances. We were quick and got two goals as a result.

“We knew we were going to get a reaction from them (Tranmere) after half time.

“It’s a good crowd here and they really get behind the team.”