NEWPORT County AFC went down 2-1 at Morecambe yesterday after leading through Joss Labadie's first-half goal. Here are the talking points...

Miserable form continues

County hoped they had turned a corner with Jamille Matt’s late leveller against Stevenage last week but there is no escaping the wretched run they are on at the moment.

With five defeats in their last six games in League Two and no win in seven, the Exiles have collected just two of the last 21 points available to them and they’re still without a league victory since October 19.

It is the worst run of Michael Flynn’s short managerial career and his biggest test since masterminding the Great Escape, after two-and-a-half years of undoubted progress.

A game of two halves

It could have been so different on Saturday. At half-time it looked as if we would be celebrating a much-needed County victory after a highly impressive and an almost entirely positive first 45 minutes.

The only nagging doubt was that the visitors hadn’t made the most of their dominance with one or two decent chances wasted and a penalty appeal turned down.

And that was the key as Morecambe made a double change at the start of the second half and looked a team transformed, fully deserving of their ultimate victory.

South Wales Argus:

Lack of fight after the break a concern

Flynn rejected the suggestion that Morecambe “wanted it more” after the break but the big worry was the way his team collapsed under pressure. The hosts quickly wrested control of the contest and County had no answer.

An equaliser looked inevitable after the introduction of Cole Stockton and Kevin Ellison and once it arrived, there was only one side that was going to go on and claim all three points.

Flynn called the second-half display “a disgrace” and said that his players had “let themselves and the club down” and that some were too comfortable, hinting that he will be busy in the January transfer window.

Christmas is cancelled

Before the match, assistant manager Wayne Hatswell said he and Flynn hadn’t yet decided on whether to hold a training session on Christmas Day ahead of the Boxing Day trip to Exeter City.

“We’ll keep that open,” said Hatswell. “If we feel we need to get them in, then we will. If not, then we won’t.

“It’s an important time of the year to spend with your families and we’re very conscious of that. We’ll leave that up until the last minute. We’ll reassess it after Saturday.”

But Flynn was very clear in his post-match interview that the second-half performance had sealed the players’ fate and they will all be on the training pitch on Wednesday morning while the rest of us are opening presents.

Read more: Newport County boss fuming after 2-1 defeat at Morecambe