Neal Ardley was thrilled to guide Notts County to their first win of the season as they secured a 2-0 victory over 10-man Harrogate.
The Magpies could have fallen behind in the first half but Joe Leesley blazed a spot-kick high and wide of goal after Dion Kelly-Evans had hauled down Mark Beck.
But Notts won a penalty of their own when Kristian Dennis’ shot was handled on the line by Scott Brown who received a red card as punishment.
Dennis lashed in the spot-kick to put Notts in front and Enzio Boldewijn sealed the win when he headed in Regan Booty’s free-kick.
And Ardley was delighted with the victory which relieved the tension of having lost two of their opening three games.
“I said the other day that I would take a result over a performance,” said Ardley.
“To come away from home against a team who finished in the playoffs last season, keep a clean sheet and take three points - I would have snapped your hands off and paid good money for that.
“We didn’t make it easy for ourselves in the second half, but I thought we were excellent going forward in the first.
“Our penalty was clear cut. Credit to the officials, they got the decision right.
“It’s a fantastic win, but we want to do better. And we will look at the analysis this week and what we can do to improve upon.”
