Newport County narrowly missed out on reaching the second round of the Carabao Cup after late heartbreak saw them lose 5-4 on penalties to AFC Wimbledon.
However, Newport County manager Hayden Mullins was proud of his squad after they held their own against the League One side.
“Going into the dressing room after the game, the initial feeling is disappointment.
“But the bigger picture is to come away from home to a League One side, a very good club as well. They have a lot of resources, they can afford a big bench.
“They delved into it, the changes that were coming on really helped them.
“I think I stand here as a very proud manager.”
Mullins was also impressed with Yahya Bamba’s performance and believed the winger was a real threat to Wimbledon’s backline.
“Yahya is a player who I really want to believe in his ability because I think in the first half, he was a little quiet for his standards.
“But we spoke about it at half-time to try and encourage him a bit and he came out in the second half as a real threat.
“The game really was in danger for them, and he scored a fantastic goal. He definitely deserved it.”
The County manager also spoke about plans for the week and his matches so far in charge as Newport County prepare for their first league game of the season against Rochdale.
“We’re going to have a settled week now, some time to really get to work and get some good training going.
“The games have been really good. The Yeovil game was good; it was good to see the lads, and it was a good performance.
“And the Roma game, which was a special game, one where again the first half we were really good, we carved out loads of chances.
“Then today, again we were good, so we’ve just got to remember that we are a threat, we’re a good side and we’re nice and organised.”
Mullins also provided an injury update on Yahya Bamba, Cameron Evans and Kyle Cameron.
“Yahya went down, he held his hamstring and got up quickly, but it was a little bit of cramp.
“Evans went over on his ankle in the second half. He’s been one we’ve been nursing, so we needed to get him off.
“Cameron’s got a cut to his face, but other than that we’re okay.”
