ANOTHER point on the board, another step towards safety and, given the timing of the equalizer, another big morale boost for Newport County AFC.

If it had ended 0-0 at Whaddon Road, Exiles boss Graham Westley may well have been bemoaning a missed opportunity to earn another vital victory.

But when substitute Jaanai Gordon swept the ball into the bottom corner in the third minute of stoppage time to cancel out Kyle Wootton’s undeserved opener for Cheltenham Town it almost felt like a win for the visitors.

As it is County are four unbeaten and back to within three points of safety with a game in hand.

The addition of David Pipe, Sid Nelson, Mark O’Brien, Mitch Rose, Craig Reid, Ryan Bird and Aaron Williams makes this side almost unrecognisable in terms of personnel compared to the team that somehow lost eight successive League Two matches between late November and early January.

And in terms of attitude and mental toughness this is a completely different team.

There was only one side that looked like breaking the deadlock in a low quality first 60 minutes on a pitch almost, but not quite, as bad as the much maligned playing surface at Rodney Parade.

“We knew exactly what we were going to get,” said Westley. “We came and watched the Gloucester game here on Tuesday so we knew the type of condition the pitch was in.

“It was very much like our home track and if you try to overplay in these conditions you’re going to come a cropper.

“We were direct, intelligent, played in the right areas, strong at set-pieces – we’re doing the right things in the conditions and in the circumstances.”

But with captain Scot Bennett off the pitch receiving treatment to a knee injury, they fell behind to Cheltenham’s one and only shot on target on 62 minutes.

South Wales Argus:

A poor header from the otherwise solid O’Brien (above) allowed Dan Holman a sight at goal and Wootton reacted quicker than Nelson and Jones to slot in the rebound after the initial shot came back off the post.

Six weeks ago that would have been that and County would have been cursing another hard luck story but at the moment Westley’s men refuse to be beaten.

South Wales Argus:

They dug deep and, inspired by the terrific traveling support behind the goal, they worked a goal that their performance fully merited as Pipe (above) won a header in the box and Sheehan’s clever touch gave Gordon the chance to demonstrate his coolness under pressure.

Gordon, Sheehan (below) and fellow sub Sean Rigg all made an impact after coming on to provide Westley with another positive – the certainty that he now has players who can change a game from the bench.

“You always say to your subs ‘be ready to make the difference’ and I think Josh, Jaanai and Riggy all went on and made a really positive difference,” said the Exiles boss.

South Wales Argus:

“Riggy was excellent getting on the ball and taking the ball forward, Josh popping up and looking to add a little bit of dynamism to our attacking play and Jaanai when the moment came showed real composure for a young player.

“I was glad that we stayed unbeaten and I thought the players deserved to take at least something from the afternoon.

“I thought we were the better side, we dominated possession and we were purposeful going forward and really organised [at the back].

“I thought it was a really strong performance.

“And even after the equaliser, although we did settle our shape back down again, we still could have gone on to win the football match and I think they were probably quite relieved at the end when the whistle went.”

County: Day, O’Brien, Jones, Neslon, Pipe, Bennett (Rigg, 64), Rose, Butler, Reid (Sheehan, 76), Bird, Williams (Gordon, 68)

Subs not used: Bittner, Demetriou, Owen-Evans, Samuel

Referee: Chris Sarginson

Attendance: 3,763 (841 County)