Michael Flynn says he’s delighted that Newport County AFC have made it to their furthest stage of the Leasing.Com Trophy since the revamp of the competition but again bemoaned the clinical edge up-front.
Tristan Abrahams, Ryan Haynes, Jamille Matt, Taylor Maloney and George Nurse all converted penalties for a 5-4 shootout success following an initial 0-0 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion U21s.
County could have made their passage into the Third Round a little bit easier but missed a good few chances at The Amex Stadium, Nurse forced a stunning stop from Jason Steele in stoppage time but otherwise County were wasteful when failing to capitalise on good positions.
It’s something Flynn has talked about for numerous weeks and he again reaffirmed his stance that County have to find a ruthless streak if they are to achieve their targets for the campaign.
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“It’s gone to penalties because we couldn’t finish,” he affirmed.
“I thought it was a good footballing match. I thought Brighton’s young players did very well and, again, our lack of finishing could have cost us the game.
"We’re just very poor at finishing at the moment. I’m not going to single any players out because it’s not just tonight, it was the same on Friday and last Saturday.
“It’s easy to say it’s a lack of confidence. It’s a lack of bright thinking, it’s a lack of urgency, it’s waiting for the perfect opportunity to shoot, trying to get it onto your favourite foot to shoot. Or, in some cases, getting it on their weaker foot – which bemuses me.
“It’s one of those things that we’ll continue to work on.”
The average age of the starting County squad was around 22 and Flynn did heap praise on some of the younger players he elected to play at the Amex.
He continued: “I thought Dom Jefferies was excellent in the second half. He was absolutely outstanding. I can’t remember him giving the ball away, he broke play up, he kept it simple and he looked very good.
“And Joe Woodiwiss looked very accomplished again and he did very well, albeit against players their own age. But it’s good because Brighton are a category one academy and they invest a lot of money into that.”