AT REFEREE AS WINGS CLIPPED
was a great player with a lot of ability and he played to win.
“He’s going to say it should have been a penalty but I thought we should have had one in the first minute when Podge [Padraig Amond] was fouled.
“If he thinks it was a penalty that’s up to him but thankfully the referee didn’t agree.”
The draw saw the Magpies slip to fifth in the League Two table and they are now four points off the top three after Wycombe’s win at Cheltenham.
They are still six points above Exeter in eighth but it is a sharp decline for a side that looked hot favourites for automatic promotion a couple of short months ago. But, penalty decision aside, Nolan was pleased to be heading home from a tricky place to go to, with a point. “You need those things to go for you but I am delighted with the clean sheet and delighted with the point,” he added. “It was a difficult game on a difficult pitch and I thought the lads handled it very well. “Defensively we were rock solid and we got a point but we could have had three if we had shown a bit more patience and quality.”
Jon Stead went closest to scoring in a drab first half but he couldn’t find his shooting boots and was off target with two attempts in the opening ten minutes.
And Newport goalkeeper Joe Day saved brilliantly from Lewis Alessandra after the interval following great work from the impressive Jorge Grant – repelling a viciously-struck shot from the edge of the box before Liam Noble blazed over from six yards out.
Grant also curled over from the edge of the area shortly after.
At the other end, Exiles skipper Joss Labadie had the ball in the net but the goal was chalked off for a foul on goalkeeper Adam Collin by Shawn McCoulsky.
Flynn’s men remain 12th, six points below the top seven.
And Flynn was pleased with the way his side bounced back after their 5-0 midweek defeat at Mansfield.
“It was a great reaction from the players,” he added. “I knew I’d get one and it was a game I thought we edged but, let’s be honest, it wasn’t a great spectacle.
“It was a battling performance and that’s something we didn’t do on Tuesday so I’m very pleased with the reaction from the players.
“And it’s our first clean sheet for a while so I’m delighted with that.”