TOM Clifford made it a birthday to remember by firing Southend United to a 1-0 win at Newport County.

The Shrimpers left-back was 22 on Tuesday.

And Clifford was pleased to pick up all three points as Blues bid to beat the drop.

“It was a great night, topped off with the win,” said Clifford.

“Grabbing a goal on my birthday was nice and the three points were massive for us because we needed them more than anything.

“We had a good run and we needed more but we fell off a little bit.

“This is hopefully the start of us picking ourselves up again and getting as many points as we can.”

Blues’ victory moved them off the foot of the table.

And the triumph also came in the Shrimpers’ first match since being beaten 5-1 at Port Vale.

“We had to dust ourselves off, look at what went wrong and go again like we have done here,” said Clifford.

“We showed real character and it was a tough game in tough conditions but I thought we managed it well.

“There’s things we can tidy up on and we’ll look at that so we can be stronger for the next game.”

Blues head to table-topping Cambridge United this weekend.

And Mark Molesley’s side will be making the trip on a high after Clifford’s deflected free-kick secured a much needed win.

“I was focusing on trying to get it over the wall but it took a little deflection,” said Clifford.

“It was a bit of luck and you take it.

“But we need to keep building and keep getting stronger.”