GORDON IS JAANAI ON THE SPOT...
NEWPORT COUNTY boss Graham Westley felt his side were unlucky not to take all three points at Cheltenham Town, despite watching them snatch a draw only in the 93rd minute.
Substitute Jaanai Gordon was the hero, sending the 841-strong travelling army home happy with a last-gasp strike.
Cheltenham had taken the lead through Scunthorpe United loan forward Kyle Wootton’s goal on his home debut in the 62nd minute.
“Over the 90 minutes I thought we were the better side and deserved to win,” Westley said.
“We showed more intent to win the match and lost the goal when we were down to ten men, Benno (Scot Bennett) was on the sidelines and a bit of confusion led to the ball ending up in our net.
“With where we are and the way things had been going, we could have felt sorry for ourselves and let the game slip.
“We pulled together, made a couple of changes and got on the front foot.
“We were relentless in chasing the equaliser and even after that, although we did settle back into our shape again, we still could have won the match. They were probably relieved when the whistle went.”
Cheltenham manager Gary Johnson was disappointed with his side’s attacking threat, with a succession of poor deliveries into the box from set plays.
“We had about 25 set plays, but didn’t really find any of our men, so we definitely need to look at that,” he said. “We need to create more and get more numbers forward and we need more quality into the box.
“I am disappointed it’s one point and not three, but we keep going.
“We have had a few late goals at Whaddon Road, which has cost us a lot of points. “That’s what happens if you go 1-0 up, teams will bombard you more than they were anyway.
“It was up and down and they got the goal through persistence.
“We only needed to defend for another minute, so I am disappointed with that, but I am trying not to be too down.
“Newport are fighting for every point and picking up points with the percentage game, which we used when I was with John Beck at Cambridge United – you have to deal with it.”
The first half was devoid of chances, with Craig Reid’s shot over the bar on the turn in the 18th minute the only notable try.
The first real excitement came when Dan Holman’s lobbed effort rebounded off the left post and Wootton followed up to beat Joe Day with a low finish.
Newport responded well with their subs making an impact. Robins debutant Tin Plavotic headed off the line from Darren Jones’ 81st-minute header, but the Exiles had to wait until injury time to level.
Goalkeeper Day was pushed forward for a corner and after a scramble in the box, West Ham youngster Gordon kept his cool to slot into the bottom right corner.