GOALS from Joss Labadie and Padraig Amond put Newport County AFC in charge against Mansfield Town before they were pegged back. Here are the talking points...

Fully fit skipper can make the difference

Labadie didn’t play until December last season and didn’t really get going until well into the New Year but he looked back to the player we know he can be on Saturday.

The captain dominated this match from start to finish, opening the scoring, picking up his customary booking, going close to two more goals and getting Jacob Mellis sent off.

A full pre-season has obviously done the 28-year-old the world of good and if he can stay fit – always a big if – then this could be a very exciting season for the Exiles.

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Haynes looks a good replacement for Butler

Dan Butler was always going to be difficult to replace after a fantastic few years on the left of the County defence, but Ryan Haynes made a positive first impression.

The former Coventry City and Shrewsbury Town defender looked solid at the back and full of ideas going forward.

Danny McNamara (below) also impressed on the other flank and, with Daniel Leadbitter and George Nurse not involved, manager Michael Flynn looks to have real strength in depth in the full-back positions.

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Sloppy 15 minutes proves costly

After a hugely impressive first 45 minutes, during which County could have scored more than two goals, all the hosts’ hard work was undone by a disastrous start to the second half.

The defence switched off to allow Krystian Pearce a free header from a free-kick to pull one back and goalkeeper Tom King was then beaten by a weak Danny Rose effort to level the scores within four minutes of the restart.

It could have been even worse, but County were the better side for 75 minutes of the match and really should have secured all three points against one of the promotion favourites.

King makes amends for his error

The former Millwall goalkeeper was a spectator for much of the first half and could do little to keep out the Stags’ first goal but he will be disappointed to have let Danny Rose’s tame effort squirm under him and over the line for the equaliser.

It was a nightmare moment on his competitive debut and could have severely dented his confidence but he was presented with an opportunity to be the hero with the penalty and he grabbed it with a fine save to keep out Nicky Maynard’s spot-kick.

That was an important moment for the new number one and he will hopefully be able to put the initial error behind him and move forward in a positive frame of mind.

Read more: Newport County boss staying positive after frustratinh draw