Jimmy Quinn was pleased with the way his team responded to their half-time team talk and went on to record a second successive away win.

Mark Beesley followed up his second goal for the club on Saturday with two more well-taken strikes, and although the home side halved the deficit almost immediately the U's resisted their late pressure to clinch the win.

"I think we deserved the win but I said to the lads at half-time that although we played OK in the first half we were looking to hit killer balls all the time, instead of being a bit safer with our passing," Quinn told the media afterwards.

"They did that so it was a bit disappointing to concede right after our second goal, but a win's a win."

United's noisy away supporters comprised almost half of the total crowd - 1,176 of the 2,358 total - and made their presence felt from before kick-off to after the final whistle.

"We had magnificent support here again, which helps the lads everywhere we play, and I'd like to thank them for that because that really helped us get the win and they were fantastic to listen to," said the manager.

"They came here in amazing numbers - that's double the gate at some clubs in this league. They're vitally important and they have been all season, and they going to be important in these games we've got coming up.

"I've just heard that Exeter have lost and the other teams have won, but if we keep playing like that we'll beat anybody," he added. "I've told the lads that the target is to stay unbeaten to the end of the season and then it's in our hands and we don't need to depend on anybody else.

"We'll give the players a couple of days' rest now because they deserve it and it's important we get the balance right. They won't get any fitter now and we need to make sure they're fresh in their bodies and fresh in their minds so they'll have a couple of days off now, then we'll regroup for a massive game on Saturday.

"If we play like we did tonight, Stafford will have a few problems."

Quinn was delighted to see Mark Beesley build on Saturday's goal with two more tonight, but he revealed that he had urged the strikers to lift their game at half-time.

"I had a little bit of a go at the two strikers because I thought their hold-up play could have been better and they could have set the play up better, which in turn gets you strikes. So they've had a bit of a rollicking at half-time and that's the response you're looking for as a manager - you're looking for people to respond and say 'I'll show you'.

"Mark Beesley scored a great goal on Saturday and tonight will give him massive confidence, and he took his goals really well."

Quinn added, "We were unlucky not to get a third too from young Ben Farrell who had a good game; not forgetting he came from Bedford a couple of leagues below ours, he looks an accomplished player, and I thought they all looked very well.

"We were solid at the back and it was just disappointing to concede the goal so soon after our second but it's a great three points."

Captain Danny Brown started his second game since returning from an ankle injury but he had to go off injured after making a vital challenge to stop a Rushden counterattack.

"He fell on his shoulder and it came out of the joint and went back in again," revealed Quinn. "He's going to be sore for a few days so we'll see if there's any reaction in the joint after he's had some rest and some treatment."

With Exeter losing tonight and now trailing the U's by five points, Quinn is delighted that back-to-back away wins mean United's play-off fate is still in our own hands.

"All the players are desperate to do it for the fans. The vocal support we've had is absolutely amazing; they're a big part of my team and you can hear them shouting "Jimmy and Willy", which makes you feel good and makes the players feel good," he said.

"We've had a couple of bad games but we've bounced back and we've got players coming back to fitness after injuries so we've got great competition for places. Dan Gleeson might be in contention for Saturday, as well.

"I just feel that if we can get the right results we need to get into the play-offs I think we'll go in the right sort of form, and a lot of that is thanks to our fans."

The U's are next in action at home to Stafford Rangers on Saturday (3pm).

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