Manager Michael Flynn was pleased with the performance against Cambridge United but was left rueing “individual errors and decision making” as Newport County AFC fell to a narrow defeat at Rodney Parade
The Exiles played their part in a thrilling encounter as they went toe-to-toe with the U’s, who ended the day top of the table, and were unlucky not to find the net with the 16 shots they recorded.
Cambridge showed their threat in attack and struck the woodwork twice before Declan Drysdale’s late header condemned County to a harsh defeat.
But it was a lack of a clinical edge in the final third that frustrated Flynn most.
“Against Bolton we didn’t play that well and got the three points but you can see why Cambridge are top of the table,” said Flynn.
“They are a tough team to crack, full of leaders and they’ve got some very good players.
“We got in some really good areas but if you look in the last 10-15 minutes, we’ve got five in the box but we keep hitting the front man.
“Unless we can improve our decision-making over the next few games it’s going to be very difficult to score goals and that’s the main part of the game.
“We played well today, it’s a tough one to take because we played a lot better than in some recent games and felt we deserved to win the game but we haven’t and we’ve got to dust ourselves down.”
The Exiles boss was disappointed with how his side conceded but felt they should have been given the chance to open the scoring from the spot long before the visitors found the net.
“We’ve given them a goal, it’s a bad error but we win together, we lose together,” he added.
“There were a lot of decisions that went against us today. The one [penalty appeal] in the first half, he may as well put gloves on, it was an awful decision from the officials.
“The second one I think he has got it right, it hit him in the face even though it didn’t look like it at the time so I give him credit but he needs help."
The games continue to come thick and fast and, with a place in the play-offs still in County’s hands, Flynn is targeting a strong finish.
“The players are really disappointed because they know what it meant,” explained Flynn.
“It’s a sign of a good team what Cambridge done here and we know it’s not an easy place to come and get three points so fair play to them.
“If we could have beaten Cambridge today you never know we might have chased them down. It wasn’t to be, they are out of the way now.
“I think it will be a very tough ask to catch them now, they’d have to lose every game and we’d have to win them all.
“We need to finish strong and hopefully it keeps us in the play-offs.
“The boys are working so hard, hopefully we’ll get the rub of the green before the end of the season.”