FLYNN BACKS DEMETRIOU AFTER HOWLER
Defender’s penalty miss costs Exiles victory
NEWPORT County boss Michael Flynn refused to point the finger at Mickey Demetriou after his horror miss from the penalty spot ruined the Exiles’ chances of bagging all three points at unbeaten Forest Green.
Demetriou spanked the ball out of the stadium from the spot after 65 minutes after Reuben Reid was adjudged to have handled, but Flynn jumped to his defence.
Flynn said: “With the penalty miss we’re frustrated. We all miss them, it happens. He’s brave enough to go up and take it so he’ll get no backlash from me for that.
“We’ve scored an own goal and missed a penalty, so I’m a little bit gutted, but I thought the players were excellent.
“It was a good game – there’s not many you kind of enjoy on the touchline, but there was some really good stuff played and I thought we were excellent, but we were just without that final little bit of quality.
“If we had had that we would have won comfortably. I thought we were the better team and deserved the three points.
“We’ve scored an own goal and missed a penalty so I’m a little bit gutted, but I thought the players were excellent.”
Earlier, Mark Cooper’s side nosed ahead after 18 minutes.
Dayle Grubb’s driving run and shot cannoned off County’s Scot Bennett and beyond the flat-footed Joe Day.
Flynn’s Newport found their range after 38 minutes – Padraig Amond poking in from a Robbie Wilmott cross as Rovers conceded their first goal at home in open play this season. In a high-octane first half, Rovers’ Carl Winchester and Reid both hit the frame of the County goal.
When the game was still goalless, Winchester turned his man Fraser Franks before hitting the base of a post with a curling 25-yarder, while Reid smacked one off the crossbar from just outside the area late on in the first half.
Good work between Amond and Antoine Semenyo saw the latter produce a save from home custodian Robert Sanchez, before Grubb was first denied by Dan Butler and then keeper Day had to get down quickly to keep out the follow-up from full-back Liam Shephard.
The match reached boiling point just past the hour mark – in a pin-ball frenzy, was Reid penalised for handling the ball.
Demetriou’s wretched strike from the spot, though, saw him blow the chance of snatching a win for the title chasers.
Grubb then almost won it down the other end for Rovers, but his effort hit the side-netting, causing some sections of the home support to celebrate, thinking the back of the net had actually rippled rather than the side. Forest Green remain in lofty company alongside Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool, who all remain undefeated this season and Cooper
paid tribute to his side after their eighth draw in 12 games.
Cooper said: “We didn’t do enough to win today, but fair play to Newport, who are a good team, but we will take that – Portsmouth lost today, so we are the only unbeaten team in the Football League, so hats off to my players.
“The game was too frantic, and was end-to-end.
“Once we got in the final third the shot was wanting, but I’m proud of the players, so I will give them that one – they have tried their socks off. We hit a post before their goal and we make a couple of mistakes for the goal, leave a man free for them to roll it in at the far post.”
Cooper berated the officials for Newport’s penalty, but he felt justice was served when centre-back Demetriou missed from the spot.
“I hate moaning about the officials, but Reuben (Reid) has lent into the ball and it has clearly hit his chest or shoulder and gone out for a corner, but justice was done when they missed from the spot. The fourth official said it wasn’t a penalty.
“We haven’t lost the game, but we are still talking about the referee.”