NEWPORT County AFC manager Michael Flynn was delighted to come through a tough test at Maldon & Tiptree to seal a place in the FA Cup third round, even if it did come at a cost.

Padraig Amond headed in the only goal of the televised tie at the start of more than nine minutes of time added on for injuries to Mark O’Brien and Kyle Howkins.

Flynn was pleased to avoid an upset on a bitterly cold evening in Essex but he felt his side could have won more comfortably.

“We got there in the end, and the main thing was being in the hat on Monday evening,” said the Exiles boss.

“The most important thing is that we’re through and we’ve kept a clean sheet.

“But we cannot keep missing the chances that we are. We should have been out of sight in the first half.

“We have got crossing and finishing to work on again. Our crossing and finishing are nowhere near good enough on a consistent basis.

“We didn’t create as much in the second half but we had two bad injuries and that just unsettles everything.

“The injury list now is up to nine or 10 and it’s really hitting us hard.”

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The injury to Howkins was the most serious, with the centre-back appearing to suffer a fit after a clash of heads.

He was stretchered off and spent the night in hospital as a precaution.

“He’s stable,” said Flynn after the match. “He’s going to stay overnight in hospital and they’re going to sedate him, just so he has a good night’s sleep.

“I think it was a clash of heads that caused him to have a fit. That’s all I know.

“It was very worrying, but he’s in the best hands and I’m sure he’ll make a full recovery.”

Flynn also made sure to praise eighth-tier Maldon, who beat Leyton Orient in the last round and pushed County all the way last night.

“They didn’t really create too much, but there were still scary moments,” he said.

“I think they’re a credit to non-league. They played very well. They played with no fear and they played as if this was their cup final.

“They deserve a lot of credit. I thought they were exceptional.”

Read more: Maldon & Tiptree 0 Newport County 1 - FA Cup match report