THERE were no new year celebrations for Newport County AFC as they went down to a 1-0 defeat to 10-man Stevenage at the Lamex Stadium yesterday. Here are the talking points...

County didn’t make the most of playing against 10 men

A fairly even contest swung dramatically in the visitors’ favour when Kurtis Guthrie was sent off for a robust challenge on Fraser Franks six minutes before half-time.

But manager Michael Flynn felt his side didn’t move the ball quickly enough to really make the numerical advantage pay.

Forest Green Rovers showed exactly how to play against 10 men when they toyed with County after Dan Butler’s dismissal on Boxing Day but Flynn’s men didn’t or couldn’t follow their example.

Enough chances to win three games

The manager may have questioned his players’ performance but there’s no denying that they had plenty of opportunities to claim all three points.

Jamille Matt produced some smart lay-offs, Tyreeq Bakinson threaded through a brilliant defence-splitting ball and Robbie Willmott created a host of chances from the right wing, but they were all spurned.

Top scorer Padraig Amond could have scored four goals, Scot Bennett went close and substitute Josh Sheehan hit the bar in stoppage time. It was by no means a poor performance, but that crucial cutting edge was missing.

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Flynn opted to bring on Mark Harris and Keanu Marsh-Brown (above) for Tyler Forbes and Fraser Franks as he looked to turn one point into three in the closing stages.

But the move backfired as his side continued to spurn chances before Alex Revell clambered between Scot Bennett and Mickey Demetriou to head home for the hosts on 85 minutes.

In hindsight it may have been better to attempt to shut up shop and take a point at 0-0 but even that would have been a disappointing result after playing against 10 men for more than 50 minutes.

More than a blip

t is now five weeks and five games without a win in League Two for County with many blaming the impending FA Cup clash with Leicester City for that poor run.

But Michael Flynn is adamant that the Foxes tie has not been a distraction for his side and the dip in form goes back to long before the third-round draw.

Since Flynn was named manager of the month for September, with his side sitting second in the table on 22 points from 10 games, County have won only three out of 15 in the league and earned just 14 points from a possible 45.