TYREEQ Bakinson admitted he had “mixed emotions” after scoring the only goal of the game to give Plymouth Argyle a 1-0 win over his former club Newport County AFC on Saturday.

The Bristol City midfielder, who spent last season on loan at County, joined Plymouth on loan last month and he was delighted to get his first goal for the Pilgrims.

Bakinson was happy to celebrate his fifth-minute strike, which Exiles boss Michael Flynn felt should have been ruled out for offside, but afterwards he was respectful of his former teammates.

“It’s one of those things, there are mixed emotions,” said the 21-year-old.

“But, obviously, I’m signed for Argyle now so I’m just doing everything I can to help us out.

“It was my first goal and I was buzzing for it to be at home so I could celebrate with the fans.

“I just gambled and got to the back stick. We work on that in training and it’s great to do that on the pitch.

“I had a little look to the lino, just to make sure, but I’d say I was onside.”

Bakinson finished the game as a makeshift defender after home captain Gary Sawyer was sent off in the 85th minute for hacking down Jordan Green.

And his passionate post-match celebrations showed how hard the hosts had to work to hang on to all three points as they were pushed all the way by Flynn’s men.

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“We all work hard for each other and we showed that,” said the Robins youngster. “It was a tough win.”

The victory lifted Plymouth into the top three and, having suffered defeat in the play-off final with County last season, Bakinson is targeting automatic promotion with his new club.

“It’s been a good start for me here,” he said. “You dream of playing in front of big crowds as a kid and it’s always exciting to play here.

“It’s a really good squad, but I like to take it one game at a time and try to win every game. Then we’ll see where we are at the end of the season.

“It’s quite a different experience [to last season]. I’m just taking every game as it comes and working hard.

“Hopefully I can do it this season. We have higher goals for ourselves as a squad, but it’s one game at a time.”

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Reflecting on his time at Rodney Parade, Bakinson said: “We were a bit unlucky last season.

“It was good, despite the way it ended. I left on good terms and I said hello to everyone before the game.

“It was a good learning curve for me. On a personal note, I think it was a success because I got to learn so much and just being at Wembley and being able to play was something I’d always dreamed of.”

Does Bakinson believe that the Exiles can make another late push for the play-offs this term?

“I think in this league there are a lot of teams that can [make the play-offs],” he said. “You definitely can’t underestimate anyone.”

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