NEWPORT County AFC academy graduate Regan Poole thanked the Exiles fans for a positive reception on Tuesday night but it didn’t help ease the pain of a 3-0 defeat for his MK Dons side.
The League One strugglers were overwhelmed by a rampant County in the first half at Rodney Parade to exit the Leasing.com Trophy at the third-round stage.
“The [County] fans have always been great with me,” said Poole afterwards.
“I came up here and I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for them so I thank every one of them. The reception they gave me was great.”
On the game itself, Poole said: “The first half performance wasn’t good enough. We conceded three sloppy goals and that came back to kill us in the end.
“I thought we improved massively in the second half. We got on the ball and started playing a bit of football.
“But when you concede three sloppy goals like that, it limits your chances of winning the game.
“I enjoyed getting on the ball in the second half and trying to make things happen,” he added.
“Obviously, it’s tough when you’re three goals down. You’re just trying to get a goal to get back into the game.
“But that first goal didn’t come for us. We got close a couple of times and I think, if we’d hit the net we could have gone on and got a few more.”
Poole went close to getting the visitors back into the game after the break.
“I tried everything,” he said. “When you’re 3-0 down you need a few people to get a few shots away to try to lift everyone and get a bit of confidence in the lads.
“I think we did that in the second half. I think we were brave, we got on the ball and tried to make something happen. It was a creditable performance in the second half.”
Dons boss Russell Martin said: “The first 45 minutes were poor and the game was over, really.
“That should have been a team strong enough to compete and win the game and it’s unfortunate that some haven’t taken the opportunity.
“It’s not easy to come to a pitch like this. It’s a tough place against a strong team in League Two but we can’t concede goals like that.”
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