Manager Michael Flynn felt Newport County AFC’s performance merited at least a point in their defeat to Plymouth Argyle at Home Park.
Tyreeq Bakinson, who made 42 appearances for the Exiles on loan from Bristol City last season, netted the only goal of the game inside the first five minutes.
County responded positively and created a number of opportunities but Joss Labadie hit the ball straight at Alex Palmer while Mickey Demetriou smashed the woodwork with a free kick as they left Devon empty-handed.
Despite the frustrating result, Flynn felt there were a lot of encouraging signs to build on.
“It came down to an offside to goal and a host of missed opportunities,” he said.
“I’ve said it all season we’ve got to be on the move in the box, we’ve got to anticipate things instead of waiting and hoping it drops in your lap.
“One of the things we are trying to work on is anticipation of things and if we’d have done that we would have scored a couple.
“I can’t fault their effort, the way they played – second half we played them off the park.
“We had by far more shots than them but they’ve got the three points and give credit where it’s due they’ve dug in. it’s a sign of a good team, they’ve picked up three points without deserving them.
“I would have rather played awful and won 1-0 but there are so many positives.
“The football we played was exceptional but it’s frustrating that we’ve lost the game.
“We tried, we believed in ourselves, they stuck to the game plan and just a lapse with the corner, slightly offside, and our missed chances [lost the game].
“We didn’t make use of the good opportunities we found ourselves in.
“Mickey’s free kick hits the angle of the crossbar and the post, it wasn’t our day.
“We’ve played a lot worse and won.”