Westley sees progress as County battle to a point

BARNET ............................. 0 NEWPORT CO ................... 0

NEWPORT COUNTY boss Graham Westley praised his side’s improvement as they held promotion-chasing Barnet to a goalless draw at the Hive Stadium.

The draw was the Exiles’ second in as many games, following a run of eight straight defeats in Sky Bet League Two, and Westley was pleased to see his side continue to progress as they bid to survive the drop.

“We knew when you go away from home you’re always going to be under the cosh to some degree but I thought it was a very determined performance,” Westley explained.

“And I think in the last couple of games you’ve seen a side that’s worked very hard at the defensive aspects.

“We’re not giving away silly free kicks, we’re standing on our feet and I think we gave away eight fouls in 90 minutes, which is testament to the hard work that the players put in.

“Before you become a winning side you’ve got to become an unbeaten side. You’ve got to be a side that is difficult to play against and cares about its clean sheets.”

Goalkeeper Joe Day looked like he cared about his clean sheet as he put in an inspired performance to keep the London-based club at bay.

After a fairly uneventful first half, the game came to life in the final 30 minutes with Day keeping out Curtis Weston from a corner.

The 26-year-old also produced stunning saves to deny Simeon Akinola, Nana Kyei, Mauro Vilhete and John Akinde, one of the league’s top scorers who scored twice at Rodney Parade in October’s 2-2 draw.

County’s best chance fell to substitute Alex Samuel, who replaced Mark Randall on 28 minutes, but he couldn’t get enough power to direct David Pipe’s ball beyond Barnet ‘keeper Josh Vickers.

The Exiles remain rooted to the bottom of the table and are five points from safety, but Westley hopes County can continue their recent progress when they host Dave Jones’ Hartlepool on Saturday.