Flynn gets ideal start as Exiles show fight
CARETAKER manager Michael Flynn got off to the perfect start at Newport County, after seeing his side come back from a goal down to beat Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road.
Second half goals from Dan Butler and Joss Labadie secured the three points for the team bottom of League Two, after Callum Cooke had given the Railwaymen a deserved half-time lead.
Flynn replaced Graham Westley on Thursday, and the new County boss couldn’t contain his joy after the game.
“It’s a massive win, it gives the whole place a lift,” he said. “Seeing all the smiles on everyone’s faces at the end makes me proud
“I said we had to fight, we had to scrap, and in the opening 30 minutes we were under the cosh a little bit, but after that the boys were outstanding. I couldn’t be happier.
“At half-time, I said to them I believed in them, I trusted them. You get these setbacks in football and when that happens you have to show the character to bounce back.
“I would have been happy with a point, but when you consider how many chances we created, we could have scored a couple more.”
In what was a poor first half which the hosts dominated, Jordan Bowery wasted a couple of chances before Cooke’s opener.
Alex Kiwomya’s raking ball found Ryan Wintle, who calmly squared it to the forward to fire it low and beyond Exiles keeper Joe Day.
County seemed destined to go an eighth game without a win, but the players had other ideas producing a courageous second half fightback.
David Pipe’s goalbound header was hooked off the line by George Ray within a minute of the restart, and captain Labadie headed narrowly wide before Butler volleyed in a great effort from the edge of the area to give hope to the Exiles.
Crewe were rattled and the game became a scrappy affair before Labadie pounced in the area to seal the points.
“We were outfought, out-battled in the second half,” said Crewe manager David Artell. “We gave them the initiative and it’s exactly what I don’t want to see from my football team.
“We were playing against the bottom of the league, and we made them look like Brazil after half-time.
“Newport didn’t do anything we didn’t expect. It simply wasn’t good enough and I’ve told the lads that. You get what you deserve in this game and that happened to us here.”