NEWPORT County AFC manager Michael Flynn was delighted to make the Leasing.com semi-finals with a 1-0 win over Leicester City under-21s, but he was quick to praise the opposition for pushing his side all the way at Rodney Parade.

Scot Bennett scored the only goal of the game in the 13th minute as County dominated the early stages, but they failed to put the game to bed and the Foxes youngsters almost made Flynn’s men pay.

“I’m delighted,” said the Exiles boss. “The win was the important thing, but I want to give a lot of credit to Leicester and to their coach Steve [Beaglehole].

“I thought they were the better team in the second half.

“They’ve lost four players to loans in the window and it goes to show what a fantastic job they’re doing at Leicester, teaching them the right way to play men’s football.

““They’ve beaten some good teams in this competition and I can’t give them enough credit, I thought they were excellent in the second half.”

South Wales Argus:

Flynn was pleased with how his team performed for the most part, but he was again frustrated that they only managed to find the net once.

“We missed too many chances again and we knew they’d keep fighting as long as it was 1-0,” he said.

“In the first half I thought we played a lot of good football. We had some chances but we couldn’t convert them.

“And in the second half, Tristan [Abrahams] had a chance and Podge (Padraig Amond) should have scored at the end.

“We can’t keep missing chances. I’ve told them again and I’m getting sick and tired of saying it, but I’m saying it again.

“We’ve got to start taking our chances.

“But the important thing was to get through and I’m delighted with that.”

County will now host League Two rivals Salford City in the one-off semi-final on Wednesday, February 19, live on Sky Sports.

The winners of that tie will take on either Exeter City or Portsmouth in the final at Wembley on Sunday, April 5.

Read more: Newport County 1 Leicester City under-21s 0 - match report from Rodney Parade