NEWPORT County boss Tim Harris is hoping Jamie Collins’ 94th- minute penalty that rescued a point for the Exiles against Luton will act as a catalyst for the remainder of the campaign.

County travel to Bath City tomorrow evening knowing that they are still in contention for the Blue Square South playoffs, even though they remain winless in 2011.

Collins’ picture-perfect penalty sparked wild scenes of celebration in the County dugout, and with the players so clearly still fired up for a promotion charge, Harris feels confident that an end to their eight-game streak without three points is imminent.

“We are delighted to head to Bath having got something out of the game, it’s a really positive result and it makes the draw feel significant, the players believe they are still in the hunt,” he said.

“Morale is important and we’ve been improving in the league, everyone has worked extremely hard and soon we are going to get the result we deserve, this is a very big week for us.

“But I have told the players that if Luton is a team challenging for promotion then so are we, because over two games they’ve not shown themselves to be superior to us at all.”

Harris, like most in Spytty Park, was particularly thrilled with the contribution of teen ace Andrew Hughes, the 18-year-old left back who produced a man-of- the-match display.

A graduate of the County youth academy, Hughes suggested he could well be the answer to the Exiles’ long-running problem position with a really assured performance.

Indeed, so good was the teen, nicknamed ‘Tiger’, that his teammates have come up with a new name for him, ‘Maldini’!

“I am absolutely delighted for Andrew, he’s got a lot of ability and we made a big call bringing him in and he did really well, hopefully that will give him the confidence to establish himself in this side,” Harris said.

Hughes admits he’s living out his dream, marking his first 90 minutes in the Conference against a big club like Luton.

“It was a huge buzz before the game to be playing Luton and the lads were great, they talked me through the whole game,” he said.

“For 90 minutes all I heard was Wayne (Hatswell) and Gary Warren screaming at me and I am just thrilled, because it’s a very good squad and getting in the team has been hard, staying in it will be even harder.”