Manager Mike Flynn felt “the better team lost” as Newport County AFC were beaten by Mansfield Town at a rain-sodden One Call Stadium.
In a tough encounter in difficult conditions, due to Storm Dennis, Danny Rose’s first-half strike was enough to condemn County to defeat.
Flynn was disappointed with the way the Exiles conceded but praised the attitude of his players, with many playing out of position due to injuries.
“That group of players just worked their socks off for us. They’ve put in a shift,” said Flynn.
“I don’t think you can ever question the commitment.
“The Cambridge game was a very poor performance but you can’t say they lacked effort.
“I’ll never question their effort, they kept going to the end and that’s a good trait to have.
“I thought we played some good stuff first half and we’ve gone and given them a goal.
“Danny Rose gets a free shot at the edge of the box and it’s killed us.
“There are a lot of positives but I would have rather had one or two more negatives and got the win.”
Flynn was also pleased to see 111 supporters brave the weather to make the trip up north.
“It’s easy for managers to say ‘the fans were great’ but when they’ve come up today they probably didn’t even know if the game was on because of the forecast of the storm,” he added.
“I think that’s a fantastic following.”