Newport County keep top-seven ambitions alive with lucky late win

AFTER the misery of late collapses against Port Vale, Accrington Stanley and Barnet last month, this was an extremely sweet victory for Newport County AFC.

What made it feel even better for the 143 travelling fans at the Abbey Stadium was that their side definitely did not deserve the victory and that the winning goal was an extremely fortunate ricochet off Joss Labadie’s knee.

It was the archetypal smash-and-grab victory and, though it was harsh on Cambridge United, it felt like a little bit of payback from the footballing gods as far as County were concerned.

The Exiles and their fans have earned a lucky break after all that pain in November and the three points were stolen and bundled onto the team bus with the last kick of the game.

“We got a touch of luck but there’s not many times we can say we’ve been lucky this season,” said manager Michael Flynn after the breathless finale.

“We’ve had to work hard for our results and it’s nice that we got that break.

“We conceded two late against Barnet and we lost three points.

“We’ve scored one today and we’ve gained two points.

“It tends to even out over the course of the season.

“It just happened that ours happened three times in a row and I’m hoping that’s the last of it.”

Shawn McCoulsky opened the scoring with a smartly taken finish on the rebound after Labadie’s low drive was saved by David Forde in the 42nd-minute.

But that too was against the run of play and there was a familiar feeling about the way the second half unfolded.

With Mark O’Brien and David Pipe forced off, County dropped too deep and the hosts piled on the pressure with Joe Day making several vital saves.

The inevitable equaliser arrived on 76 minutes when Jevani Brown found the top corner with a spectacular effort and the fear was that Flynn’s men were set for more late heartache.

“I didn’t think we were at our best today,” admitted the manager.

“I thought we were poor for the first half hour, but the last 15 of the first half we were a lot better. We started playing more football in their half and got the goal.

“I thought we’d come out positively in the second half then but we were worse, if I’m totally honest.

“I’m still not happy with the goal [we conceded], even though it’s gone in the top corner, because they showed him on to his left foot.

“But we’ve got the boys fit and we’ve got them organised,” he added.

“And I’m surprised I’m not being asked about how proud I am of how fit my players are because when we concede in the 92nd-minute I’m getting asked if I’m concerned about fitness.

“Goals are scored and conceded in injury time and I hate it when people question fitness.

“They work hard for each other, they cover each other, and if we can pick up a win at a tough place like Cambridge without playing well then it’s a sign of a good team.”

Flynn knows that this was not the performance to convince anyone that his side are genuine promotion contenders.

But one look at the League Two table shows that the Exiles are definitely in with a shout of claiming a play-off place.

The home clash with Lincoln City this coming Saturday will mark the halfway point of the season and County are just a point off the top-seven.

And they’ve got there through a combination of hard work, determination, organisation, team spirit, a bit of quality and a sliver of luck – all the ingredients for a successful season.

County: Day; White, O’Brien (Bennett, 46), Demetriou; Pipe (Willmott, 57), Dolan, Tozer, Butler; Labadie; Nouble, McCoulsky (Amond, 86)

Subs not used: Bittner, Owen-Evans, Rigg, Reynolds

Booked: White, Nouble, Labadie

Referee: Chris Sarginson

Attendance: 3,632 (143 County)