RYAN Clarke relished surviving under pressure on his long-awaited return as ten-man Oxford United held on for a precious 1-0 win at home to Newport County.

The goalkeeper had to work extremely hard to claim a clean sheet on his first appearance of the season, after missing the first two months through injury.

Michael Collins’s free-kick gave United a deserved lead at half-time, but the momentum switched when Tyrone Barnett was sent off.

Including stoppage time, the hosts had to survive for 40 minutes, but they dug in superbly as Newport pushed hard for an equaliser.

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And Clarke was happy to have a baptism of fire on his return to the side.

“I loved every minute of it,” he said.

“They were going to the bye-line and I was saying ‘go on then, put the ball in’.

“It’s great and me coming to get a cross in the last minute to take the pressure off the lads is a better feeling than making a point blank save.

“That’s what you work hard for, you thrive on times like that when you’re 1-0 up and are having to work hard for a clean sheet, because it feels great when the final whistle goes.”

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It meant a lot to the 32-year-old, who has been on the sidelines since having a foot operation during the summer.

He said: “It’s nice to be back. I think I’m going to be a bit achey in the morning, but it’s great to be playing on a Saturday and getting three points.

“I let a few emotions out in the end because it’s been so long since I’ve been able to play.

“You work hard to get back fit and I’ve said it before, but you treat every game as though it’s your last. It’s just a great feeling again.”

While it was an excellent return for Clarke, he admitted there was one heart-stopping moment.

On 67 minutes he raced out to intercept a through ball, but Newport striker Joe Pigott got there first, only to shoot off wide.

Clarke said: “I thought he’d done me. It was probably the wrong decision, but fortunately it didn’t cost us.”

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