Flynn reflects on some positives after Exiles’ Checkatrade setback
IT wasn’t the start Newport County wanted for their Checkatrade Trophy campaign at Swindon Town but the club’s trip to Wiltshire wasn’t without positives, says boss Michael Flynn.
While the competition is some way down County’s list of priorities this season, Tuesday night’s match gave the League Two high-flyers an opportunity to get more players game time.
Flynn made eight changes following last Saturday’s 1-0 win away to Oldham Athletic, a result that took the Exiles to second place in the table, only behind Lincoln City on goal difference.
That meant members of Flynn’s squad were also handed a chance to stake a claim for starting spots this Saturday when Yeovil Town visit Rodney Parade.
And while Flynn wouldn’t be drawn on who impressed him enough to play a part against the Glovers, the Newport chief did take some positives from the 1-0 County Ground reverse.
“It was good to get some minutes into a few of the boys and have a look at a few others,” he said.
“It was a decent performance and we only lost because of a soft penalty.
“They didn’t look out of sorts against one of Swindon’s strongest teams. They played well.
“If we’d had that last pass in the final third and we could have created a little bit more.”
Striker Antoine Semenyo returned from concussion at Swindon, while there were first starts of the season for Charlie Cooper, Robbie Willmott, Mark O’Brien and Cameron Pring.
Willmott hadn’t featured at all until Tuesday due to a hamstring injury, while Pring made his debut having joined on loan from Bristol City.
“I thought he did alright,” said Flynn on Pring. “It’s hard coming up to the speed of the game but he WALES U-21s manager Robert Page said he was proud of his side after their slim chances of qualifying for the 2019 Euro U21s Championships ended after a 2-0 defeat to 10-man Portugal.
Goals from Andre Horta and Joao Felix in either half earned the visitors the win on Bangor, despite them ending the match with 10-men following the second half dismissal of defender Yuri Ribeiro.
Wales remain fourth in Group 8, trailing leaders Romania by eight points and are also eight points behind second placed Bosnia-Herzegovina, who were knocked off top after losing 2-0 to Romania. Portugal extended their advantage over Wales to six points.
The group winners qualify automatically for next summer’s finals in Italy and San Marino, while the four best runners-up among the nine groups advance to the playoffs. did well.
“He’s settled in really well and we got to see how quick he is during the first half. I thought he had a solid night.”
On Willmott, he added: “We took Robbie off at 65 minutes as a precaution because that’s all he was going to play.
“It didn’t matter whether he had scored two or whatever, he was always coming off on 65 because we want to do the right thing by the players.
“I’ve got a few stiff from Saturday. Fraser’s (Franks) groin was sore, Padraig Amond was sore, that’s why I didn’t put him on at the end.
“I’m not going to risk getting a few injuries and it also gave a few who haven’t played minutes in their legs.”
As for Michael Doughty’s winner from the spot in the 77th minute, Flynn felt referee Antony Coggins made the wrong call after Elijah Adebayo went down under Scot Bennett’s challenge.
“I’m not going to say too much. If it’s a penalty, it’s a soft one, but I’m not going to moan and make excuses.
“The referee gave it and we can’t give him an excuse to give one.” “I was really proud of the players tonight they gave a good account of themselves, some of our performances were excellent,” Page told BBC Sport Wales.
“The difference is we created chances and were not clinical enough. There are aspects with the performance we are pleased with, 2-0 absolutely feels like a harsh scoreline for us.
“But I could not be more proud of my group of players.”
Los Angeles FC midfielder Andre Horta gave Portugal the lead on 35 minutes with a long-range effort.
Wales sensed a route back into the game when Benfica’s Yuri Ribeiro was sent off on the hour after a second yellow card.
Rabbi Matondo came closest to finding an equaliser before Benfica’s Joao Felix saw his deflected shot make the result safe.