ANTOINE Semenyo broke Stevenage hearts and sent Newport County AFC fans into ecstasy with a last-ditch winner at Rodney Parade on Saturday.

His injury-time strike came after Luther Wildin had cancelled out Matty Dolan’s stunning effort inside 60 seconds.

Here are the talking points from the League Two clash…

It’s the late, late show again

County may have gained a reputation for conceding early in games this season – the boot was on the other foot with regards to that on Saturday – but they are also proving to be adept at finding the net late in matches.

Jamille Matt had previously registered in the 97th minute against Macclesfield but Semenyo left it even later to become County’s match-winner in a fixture that looked set to end all square.

It says a lot about a side that can keep going right to the very end – just look at Manchester United during their treble-winning season of 1998-99 and how many games they won in the closing stages.

Fitness shows

After seeing his men snatch victory, County boss Michael Flynn hailed the fitness of the players and highlighting how important it was to getting the three points.

Having the capacity to keep going is both a physical and mental thing and it would appear that Flynn has got the players in peak condition.

If they are to challenge for promotion this season then levels must be maintained so as to avoid being on the wrong end of a result like that on Saturday.

Dolan and Semenyo take their chances

Matty Dolan had replaced Antoine Semenyo in the starting line-up for the visit of Stevenage and both made cases to start against Crawley next Saturday after stunning strikes at opposite ends of the encounter.

We know Dolan can strike a ball cleanly and his first-minute howitzer will surely be up there with the best he has scored in his career.

Semenyo made the most of Tyreeq Bakinson’s injury to slam home in the 98th minute and become County’s hero.

Parade pitch holds up well once more

Other parts of the city may have been under a few inches of water after what seemed to be 48 hours of non-stop rain, including the Rodney Parade pitch.

In seasons gone by, Saturday’s match would probably not have gone ahead due to the drainage issues surrounding the pitch.

But the surface was excellent given the weather conditions and only the swirling wind had a say on proceedings.