Stevenage’s long wait for a home league victory has come to an end thanks to Matt Godden’s hat-trick in a 3-1 win against Newport County.

The striker scored two first-half goals before converting a second-half penalty in what was Boro’s first win since September at the Lamex.

It was an afternoon to forget for former Stevenage boss Graham Westley whose County side was outperformed throughout, just as it had been down in Newport when Stevenage won 2-0 in south Wales just last month.

That was a fairly comfortable evening for Boro and this match was in a similar vein with Darren Sarll’s side needing just eight minutes to take the lead thanks to a cool, calm finish from Godden.

A loose Newport pass was nudged towards the visitors’ area by Steven Schumacher, and when Tyler Walker played in Godden the striker picked out the corner and stroked his shot past Joe Day for a 1-0 lead.

Day had to make a fine save from Walker while Tom Pett also sent a shot goalwards after a fine run as Stevenage bossed the opening 20 minutes.

The visitors struggled to impose themselves and it took 35 minutes for them to register a chance, with Mark O’Brien heading wide. Another then followed only for Jaanai Gordon’s overhead kick to be struck straight at Jamie Jones.

His opposite number, however, then made a howler to gift Stevenage their second of the match.

On the right of the pitch Day tried to watch the ball out of play under pressure from Ben Kennedy, but the Stevenage forward managed to get around him and keep it in.

With Day out of his area Kennedy spotted Godden in the box and played him in, the striker taking a touch before curling his shot over the line via a slight deflection.

Boro dominated the early stages of the second half with Pett forcing a save out of Day with the keeper using his legs to steer the ball away from danger.

Godden was on a hat-trick and he was given the perfect chance to go for it when Kennedy was brought down in the Newport area with an hour gone. The striker fired straight down the middle to claim the match ball and put the game to bed.

Newport’s Aaron Williams had a goal chalked off for offside midway through the second period and Westley’s side didn’t look like getting anything at all until, with a minute left, Marlon Jackson pulled the ball back in the box for Butler to fire in for 3-1 from the edge of the box.

Boro will have been disappointed with missing out on a clean sheet but will be anything but disappointed with their overall display. It was a necessary victory to put to an end a run of three defeats, and a deserved one too.

Stevenage: Jones, King, Franks, Henry, Ntlhe, Kennedy, Pett, Schumacher (Lee 67), Gorman, Walker (Loft 73), Godden (Cowans 84). Subs: Day, Wilkinson, McAnuff, Tonge, Lee,.

Newport County: J Day, Barnum-Bobb (Reid 71), Randall, Myrie-Williams (Butler 3) Tozer, Bennett, Pipe, Nelson, O’Brien, Williams, Gordon (Jackson 55). Subs: Bittner, Owen-Evans, Wood, Meite.

Att: 2185