NEITHER Newport County AFC nor Cambridge United could find a winner at a windswept Abbey Stadium. Here are the talking points...

Cambridge record had to end at some point

County’s clashes with the U’s have tended to be streaky over the past few years with five Cambridge victories followed by six in a row for Michael Flynn’s men.

The Exiles were denied a seventh successive victory against their favourite opponents and they will hope that this stalemate doesn’t mean we’re now set for a long run of draws between the teams.

The point did extend one impressive record, however. County are now 12 games unbeaten in regular-season games in the league – their longest run without a Football League defeat since November 1983.

Solid, but not spectacular start

County have kicked off the new campaign with two draws as opposed to a defeat and a win 12 months ago.

That means they’ve collected two points from a possible six, as opposed to three last year, but Michael Flynn is taking the positives and he’s happy to be unbeaten.

He’s convinced that Cambridge are a lot better this term and, while the Exiles could have won both games, a point away from home is not to be sniffed at with two home games to come over the next fortnight.

Free Press Series:

Mark O’Brien admin error raises serious questions

Eyebrows were raised when the team news came through an hour before kick-off and there was no sign of Mark O’Brien.

He should have been back from suspension after missing last week’s draw with Mansfield Town but someone in the Exiles hierarchy failed to file the correct paperwork and a one-game ban effectively became a two-game one.

That left the manager fuming, especially after he’d already told Kyle Howkins that he wouldn’t be playing. It’s a serious oversight by someone but, with both the secretary and chief operating officer positions listed as ‘TBA’ in last week’s programme, it’s unclear who is responsible.

Other mishaps simply embarrassing

While that was the only blunder that had an effect on the match, County suffered a series of unfortunate events before the game.

Most comical was the bizarre situation that saw new signing Ryan Haynes listed as the official captain, lead the team out and contest the coin toss before handing the armband to regular skipper Joss Labadie.

That was because County travelled on the morning of the match and their food for the coach journey didn’t arrive so they had to stop at Reading Services – presumably for a Marks & Spencer meal deal rather than a bacon double cheeseburger from Burger King.

Labadie didn’t arrive in time to hand the team sheets in at 1.45pm so Haynes, who’d travelled separately, was forced to step in to avoid a fine for the club.

On top of all that, the Exiles were forced to wear a cobbled-together kit because the Fraser Franks third strip has yet to be delivered by the manufacturers, and the club media team also had to stop on the way to pick up bags of ice for the medical team.

Considering all of that, perhaps a point wasn’t a bad result!

Read more: Newport County boss on Mark O'Brien 'admin error'