Head coach Jardim Nelson was pleased to see his side earn a hard-fought point against promotion-chasing Walsall on Monday afternoon.
Despite being reduced to ten men following a late red card for Ciaran Brennan, County displayed grit and determination to secure a valuable draw against the third-placed visitors.
Walsall thought they had claimed a dramatic late winner, but Oisin McEntee’s effort was correctly ruled out after he was adjudged to have handled the ball into the net.
Following consultation with his assistant, the referee disallowed the goal, ensuring Newport’s resilience was rewarded with a well-deserved point.
Jardim gave his immediate post-match reaction to Sky Sports. Read the full Q&A below…
Nelson, you’ve struggled with conceding goals, but this was a clean sheet and a valuable point. How are you reflecting on it?
Yeah, another clean sheet, off the back of last week as well. That’s two games now without conceding, which has been an area we’ve really tried to improve every week. I'm happy with this result — it's a very important point for us.
Overall, it’s the kind of performance we want to see every game. I think we were good today. We can’t forget we were playing against a promotion-chasing team, a side that’s been near the top of the table for a long time. So we knew it was going to be difficult, but we also showed that we've got quality — and still much more room to improve.
Was it a heart-in-mouth moment at the end, when it looked like Walsall might have scored? They celebrated, but it was the assistant referee who flagged.
It was a heart in the moment, but it was handball. Everyone could see that. So I think the officials made the right decision.
But obviously, it’s a moment that kind of sums up some of the games we’ve had this season — where we’ve been competing, close to winning, and then in the last couple of minutes, one moment and we concede.
Today though, everyone is proud of what we’ve done.
Two clean sheets in a row, as you say — but at what cost? You’ve had two players go off injured and a red card as well.
Yes, nothing comes cheap. We’ll assess the injuries — they looked like muscle issues, so we don’t expect them back too quickly. But again, this team and this club has been built on the group — on finding solutions within the group.
And I think we’ve shown that throughout the year.
Look, this has been a tough job so far. When I took it on, I knew I’d be giving 12 debuts — on top of two or three players with very limited time in this league.
So we’re talking 15, 16 players experiencing this level for the first time. Because of that, I’m even more proud of these boys.
