A BRILLIANT brace from Padraig Amond and second-half goals from Scot Bennett and substitute Shawn McCoulsky sealed a comprehensive 4-0 win for Newport County AFC at Forest Green Rovers. Here's what we learned...
1. Exiles finally find that ruthless edge
Manager Michael Flynn has been demanding that his side start taking more of the chances they have been creating and they finally did that on Saturday.
Too often County have failed to make the most of their dominance and ended up hanging on for victory or dropping points but they got everything right at The New Lawn.
2. Amond can produce the goods on the road
The Irishman netted his fifth and sixth goals of the season to overtake Frank Nouble as top scorer and prove that he can get goals away from Rodney Parade.
Amond had joked that he should only play in home games but, with that monkey off his back, there’s no stopping the poacher extraordinaire who is showing exactly why Flynn worked so hard to bring snap him up.
3. Bennett back to his best
It was a disappointing start to the season for the former skipper but he’s bounced back with some superb displays in the past week and he justified the decision to leave out Mark O’Brien on Saturday.
Bennett (above) was excellent in defence against Yeovil Town and chalked up an assist from midfield against Swansea City under-21s before adding another assist and a goal against Rovers.
4. McCoulsky’s knocking on the door
The young striker had only been on the pitch for around four minutes when he powered a perfect header past Rovers goalkeeper Sam Russell for his second goal of the week.
That is now five for the season for McCoulsky and he is putting pressure on Frank Nouble, who has now gone nine games without a goal since his stunning hat-trick against Chesterfield on August 26.
5. Butler service a big boost
The left wing-back made an impressive return to the starting XI against Yeovil and also did a good job in central midfield against the Swans’ academy stars.
On Saturday Butler (above) was a constant threat down the left flank and produced a perfect cross for substitute Shawn McCoulsky to head in the fourth goal. His form, and that of Bennett, means there is no need for Flynn to rush Mark O’Brien back into action if he’s not 100 per cent.
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