Matchwinner Callum O’Hare reckons his first senior goal will restore some much-needed momentum to Carlisle United’s promotion push.

The Aston Villa prospect admitted his winner against Swindon, which saw the Blues return to the play-off places, was a special moment.

The 20-year-old hopes it is the start of better fortunes after ending a five-game winless run.

“The fact it was the winner made it more special,” O’Hare said.

“We didn’t really play the best but the three points is what everyone wanted, and it was massive after five games without a win.

“I definitely think it will give us momentum and more confidence as well.

“You could see we were a bit tense in the second half trying to get the win. Now we’ve got it, we should be able to play [more].”

O’Hare’s 79th-minute strike came after Kyle Bennett cancelled out Hallam Hope’s 12th goal of the season.

United’s 2-1 win and climb to seventh came at a cost, with Mark Cullen set to be assessed after limping off with a groin injury.

In the short term, the Blackpool loan man looks like to miss tomorrow’s home clash with Notts County.

O’Hare, meanwhile, says he is “buzzing” after breaking his first-team duck.

On his crucial strike he said: “I didn’t want to fluff anything – I just wanted to keep calm, get my touch right and hit it low, and then it would have every chance of going in, and thankfully it did,” he said.

“To finally score is a nice feeling and hopefully there will be many more.”

It was O’Hare’s sixth Blues appearance and after his man-of-the-match display he said he is steadily adapting to League Two life.

“It’s much different to what I’m used to, but I think I’m starting to get used to it now.

“The lads have been brilliant with me and I settled in straight away.”

The young midfielder was on the receiving end of a number of fouls during the game but added: “You just have to get on with that, not let it get into your head, otherwise the game will just go by.”

Carlisle’s promotion push continues against the EFL’s bottom side tomorrow and O’Hare says United’s approach against Notts must be right.

He added: “They’re fighting [to avoid] relegation and will throw everything at us. We’ve got to deal with that, but keep a level head and just play our football.

“We had slid out of the play-off places but it’s massive to be back in there now. We’ve just got to keep pushing to the end of the season and try to win every game.”

Manager Steven Pressley said it was too early to judge the seriousness of Cullen’s injury.

The Blues boss also revealed that teenage winger Liam McCarron is likely to be out for seven to eight weeks with a knee injury.