Newport County AFC manager Michael Flynn says the Exiles’ Carabao Cup win over higher division opposition will provide his players with a confidence boost.
County booked their place in the second round of the competition after overcoming Ipswich Town 1-0 on Tuesday evening, with Flynn making 11 changes to his starting line up following the opening day win over Oldham Athletic.
With the Exiles facing several long trips throughout August as the Rodney Parade pitch renovation reaches its conclusion, the County boss rang the changes and left the majority of his senior players at home ahead of the visit to Mansfield Town on Saturday.
He handed out first starts to half of his 12 summer additions for the trip to Portman Road, while two Exiles academy products - Joe Woodiwiss and Aneurin Livermore - were named in the starting XI.
And Flynn says the result against third-tier opposition will bread confidence.
"It was an absolutely outstanding win,” said Flynn.
"I’m very, very proud of that group of players because we had a lot of young boys out there. They haven’t really played together as a team but I thought they dug in, road their luck at times, against a weakened Ipswich team.
"You could see the players they were bringing on so I’m over the moon because that’s a massive confidence boost for those boys."
Timmy Abraham, who was one of a half-a-dozen players to make their competitive debuts for County, got off the mark for the Exiles when he guided the ball home with a deft touch following Finn Azaz’s cross inside the opening four minutes in Suffolk.
And, while Flynn was happy to see the Fulham loanee net his first for the club, the County boss hailed an all-round display as his side secured their place in the second round for the fifth successive season.
"Timmy has a super work ethic on him, he's raw at times, but he gives us something different.
"His pace is electric and I've told him if football doesn’t work out he can do the 100 metres because he is that quick!
"He wasn’t the only one though because Joe Woodiwiss, Aneurin Livermore and Louis Hall were all outstanding. We know how good Nick Townsend is, and James Clarke, Jordan Greenidge did well too. Lewis Collins, Ed Upson and Dom Telford all put a shift in when they came on as well - I could go through them all because they were all brilliant."
It was the second long trip in the space of four days following the visit to Boundary Park, but Flynn was delighted to reward the 131 supporters who made the journey to Sussex with a victory.
"The fans were outstanding travelling all the way down here," added Flynn.
"I know how far it is and we couldn’t have had a further away draw, even if we had picked one, so fair play to the supporters for paying their hard-earned money and coming."