Michael Flynn believes Newport County AFC should have inflicted a first League Two defeat of the season on league leaders Exeter City after a dominant second half performance in the 1-1 draw at Rodney Parade.
The Grecians – League Two’s only unbeaten side – came out of the traps flying and opened the scoring after 15 minutes when Lee Martin tapped home from Randell Williams’ pinpoint corner kick.
County grew into the game the longer it progressed but there was no denying that Tristan Abrahams made a massive difference when coming on at half time, he got the equaliser on 64 minutes when netting his first league goal for the Exiles by converting a penalty kick.
The Exiles threw everything they had at the Grecians in the latter stages, but the league leaders are unbeaten for a reason, they were organised at the back and prevented County from getting the desired matchwinner.
Read the full match report.
Flynn affirmed: “I thought we should have won the game because second half we were by far the better team.
“For 15/20 minutes just after the fifth minute, Exeter dominated. They switched the play well, they looked dangerous going forward and I’ve got no problem admitting when the opposition are on top.
“We grew into it from there but second half we had to go with more pace. Podge wasn’t really getting the service, so we had to try and change it up. It worked because we were by far better in the second half.
“It was a tactical decision. I just didn’t think we were threatening enough in behind. Podge is a really clever footballer, but I just thought we needed more pace and it showed second half.
“The next two penalty takers were off the pitch and I just remembered how calmly Tristan took the winning penalty at Gillingham, so I told him to take it.”
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NEXT UP | County have a much-needed break in midweek before heading to the County Ground to face Swindon Town next Saturday. Read the following press release for ticket information ahead of this fixture.
ON PARADE | The Exiles next return to Rodney Parade on October 5th when Carlisle United make the long trip down to South Wales. Tickets to be made available online very soon.