THEY say good things come to those who wait and that was certainly the case for Newport County AFC midfielder Tom Owen-Evans at Exeter City.

Owen-Evans and his teammates were stranded on the team coach as an accident on the M5 led to gridlock and forced the kick-off to be delayed by 45 minutes at a sunny St James Park.

But the 20-year-old, who saw a goal ruled out earlier in the season when the Morecambe match was abandoned, was on cloud nine on the way back to Newport.

His stunning 53rd-minute winner sealed a vital victory for the Exiles and finally gave him his first goal in senior football.

It was a fourth win in seven games for caretaker manager Michael Flynn and draws for Hartlepool United and Cheltenham Town mean his side are now just three points from safety with five games left to play.

Flynn made two changes with Owen-Evans and Mark Randall both recalled in midfield in place of Sean Rigg and Joss Labadie.

David Pipe took over as skipper as Labadie started a three-match suspension following his red card during last week’s 1-0 home win over Crawley Town.

It was a tight opening 45 minutes with the hosts creating the majority of the chances but the Exiles did threaten sporadically, with Randall looking the most likely to create a winner.

Former Exeter captain Scot Bennett had to be alert to clear Ryan Harley’s early effort and David Wheeler, who scored in the Grecians’ 4-1 win at Rodney Parade on New Year’s Eve, wasted three chances with his head.

Striker Reuben Reid, who nearly signed for the Exiles earlier in the season, also sent a header just off target.

At the other end Dan Butler went closest to breaking the deadlock for the visitors.

The left wing-back got on the end of Mitch Rose’s deep cross and his volley was beaten away well by home goalkeeper Christy Pym.

Randall gave the ball away on occasions as he tried to force an opening but his constant probing worried the hosts.

And the former Arsenal midfielder picked out Ryan Bird’s run into the box with a beautiful outside-of-the-boot pass but the striker’s shot from a tight angle was easily held by Pym.

The Exiles attacked towards their own fans in the second half and seemed to have a renewed sense of purpose after the restart.

Pipe played in Owen-Evans in the first minute of the second half but the youngster dragged his shot well wide.

The skipper then crossed from the right and Bird hooked the ball over the bar from close range after Pym had dropped it under pressure.

And County made the pressure pay on 53 minutes as Owen-Evans picked the ball up 25 yards from goal in a central position, strode forward and buried it in the bottom corner right in front of the jubilant travelling fans.

Reid went straight down the other end and fell in the box but referee Eddie Ilderton waved play on despite loud appeals for a penalty.

Exeter brought on Ollie Watkins, their hat-trick hero in the reverse fixture, and he forced Joe Day into a fine save down low to his left.

Aaron Williams replaced the ineffective Bird for County, who continued to threaten on the break through the industrious Alex Samuel.

There was plenty of pressure from the hosts as the clock ticked down but County dug deep and defended superbly to give their survival hopes another massive shot in the arm.

County: Day; Pipe, O’Brien, Bennett, Demetriou, Butler; Randall (Jones, 75), Rose, Owen-Evans; Samuel (Myrie-Williams, 90), Bird (Williams, 64)

Subs not used: Bittner, Barnum-Bobb, Nelson, Gordon

Booked: Randall, Jones

Referee: Eddie Ilderton

Attendance: 4,040 (364 County)

Argus star man: Owen-Evans