TWO goals from Mickey Demetriou and one from Jamille Matt earned Newport County AFC a thrilling 3-1 win over high-flying Bury. Here are the talking points...
Demetriou at the double
David Pipe said in the build-up to the match that he was confident his teammates would rise to the occasion and they certainly did that to beat a very good Bury side, none more so that Mickey Demetriou.
It was a fantastic team performance, but Demetriou was deservedly named man of the match for his dominant display in defence and attack.
The centre-back was a man possessed against the Shakers, opening the scoring early on with a glancing header from Matty Dolan’s free-kick and sealing the win with a thumping half volley 15 minutes from time.
Bennett stops Mayor running the show
Michael Flynn picked out Danny Mayor as the best player in League Two before the match and it was no surprise that the Exiles boss had a plan to nullify the Bury number 10.
Mayor, who was returning from a three-game ban, did curl a shot onto the bar after the break. He also played a part in Nicky Maynard’s goal, although a deflection off Josh Sheehan to take the ball over Demetriou and Mark O’Brien was the major factor.
But Mayor certainly didn’t have the kind of influence he’s become used to throughout the season and that was largely down to Scot Bennett, who was recalled in place of Ben Kennedy and did a superb job in keeping the visitor’s main man quiet.
Exiles are the form team in League Two
It is now six without defeat for Flynn’s men and no team in the fourth tier has won more points than County in the last half dozen matches.
Four wins and two draws have seen them earn 14 points out of a possible 18 since the 1-0 defeat at Northampton Town on March 12.
That is one more than fellow play-off hopefuls Forest Green Rovers, five more than champions-elect Lincoln City and eight more than relegation-threatened Macclesfield Town – their opponents on Monday.
Here's how things stand in the #SkyBetLeagueTwo table
— Sky Bet League Two (@SkyBetLeagueTwo) April 19, 2019
#EFL pic.twitter.com/lbyNv3lXIX
Ain’t no stoppin’ ‘em now?
There was a familiar sound coming from the County dressing room at Rodney Parade on Saturday night as Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now was blasting out in celebration of another victory.
The 1979 disco hit by R&B duo McFadden & Whitehead was a key part of the Exiles’ Great Escape run-in in 2017 and there is a similar feeling of momentum building at just the right time.
Unstoppable? Macclesfield and Lincoln will certainly have something to say about that over the next week, and Oldham Athletic and Morecambe will be no pushovers. But Flynn's men now know that four wins out of four will guarantee a place in the play-offs.
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