ORTEZ Belle made his long-awaited competitive debut for Newport County on Saturday, and he proved to be the inspiration behind a vital 1-0 Nationwide South victory at Weymouth.

The big hitman, on loan from Chester, was eager to impress and set up Jason Bowen's winner, as well as being a constant nuisance to the hapless Terras, whose season has gone into freefall with just four points out of the last 24.

Belle comes with a reputation of landing himself in trouble with referees, he has been sent off three times this season for Chester already, and the travelling County fans held their breath as the striker lunged wildly into Weymouth full back Dave Waterman with less than four minutes on the clock.

The referee brandished a yellow card, much to County's relief, but with 86 minutes remaining, a fourth red card was not beyond the realms of fantasy.

Luckily, Belle settled down, and playing as a loan frontman, put in a tremendous shift. Obviously his height is his main weapon, but he is equally effective on the deck.

"He's got a great touch for a big man," is perhaps one of the most over-used and infuriating phrases in football - does a couple of extra inches in height make it impossible for the brain to communicate with a player's feet? - but it can be applied to Belle, as he pulled defenders in before a neat flick or pass kept the momentum going.

He won almost every header, held the play up terrifically and is a major goal threat - he can be the man who keeps County up, no doubt.

As football matches go, this one could be described as scrappy at best, and completely dire at worst, but County will not care because it was three points they badly needed.

They were dealt a blow as defender Lee Phillips was ruled out with a calf strain, and Scott Morgan limped off after just ten minutes with an ankle knock, but the first half-hour was devoid of any action, apart from a long-range free kick from Belle that failed to trouble Terras 'keeper Jason Matthews.

He was troubled, though, on 32 minutes, when a long throw by Chris Curran was flicked on by Belle and Jason Bowen's header was kept out by a great diving save to his right.

Within a minute the hosts threatened when Ludovic Cadima turned inside Matthew Morris, but his shot ended up miles high and wide.

The breakthrough came deep into first-half stoppage time, and it was Belle who was instrumental as he managed to head back across goal a Morris free kick from deep, despite being marked by half of the Weymouth team.

His header was met by Bowen, who magnificently nodded the ball into the far corner of the net with just about the last touch of the half.

The second period might have expected a Weymouth onslaught, but County by this point had five across the back, with Jeff Eckhardt in superb condition and new goalkeeper Nathan Vaughan looking comfortable with anything that came his way.

And if County were not scraping for their lives at the bottom of the league, they would have gone on and bagged a couple more goals, but the present situation hardly calls for throwing caution to the winds.

Andrew Thomas was unlucky as his header crashed against the bar, and then Eckhardt lashed the rebound over and that would have sealed it. In the end it took a superb last-gasp tackle from skipper Darren Jones to secure the points when he timed his interception on Cadima to perfection.

Weymouth: Matthews, Waterman (Keane 64), Welch, O'Brien, Bound, Dutton, Boyce (Byrne 48), Hutchinson, Jackson, Cadima, Wheeler. Subs not used: Browne, Wilkinson, Ramos. Booked: Hutchinson (39 foul).

Newport County: Vaughan, Morris, Morgan (Hooper 10), Davies, Thomas, Jones, Curran, Williams, Belle (Moralee 89), Bowen, Eckhardt. Subs not used: Tyrell, Harrhy, Delve. Booked: Belle (4 foul), Thomas (50 persistent fouling). Referee: I Thomson (Waterlooville). Attendance: 1013.