NEWPORT County AFC and Crawley Town had to settle for a 1-1 draw after both netted from the spot at Rodney Parade. Here are the talking points...

Abrahams shows he can handle the pressure

As soon as Josh Sheehan went down in the box and referee Darren Drysdale pointed to the spot, manager Michael Flynn was preparing to send on Tristan Abrahams to take the penalty.

It was a lot of pressure to load onto the 20-year-old’s shoulders but he took it all in his stride to level the match with his first touch.

It was a fourth goal of the campaign for Abrahams and it could have been more as he hit the post and then saw another effort scrambled off the line in stoppage time.

The former Norwich City striker was frustrated not to have earned his side the win but he has surely done enough to force his way into the manager’s thinking as he contemplates the starting XI for Saturday’s trip to Colchester United.

Exiles still searching for that killer instinct

Manager Michael Flynn felt his side should have won the game and he once again bemoaned the lack of ruthless streak in his team at present.

County recorded eight shots on target to Crawley’s one last night so they were at least creating chances, but once again they failed to make the most of their opportunities.

Jamille Matt continues to take a battering up front, with little protection from the officials, but he was hauled off at half-time and could be in danger of losing his starting spot at the weekend.

Incredible unbeaten home record goes on

With 20 minutes remaining, County were staring down the barrel of a first home defeat in the league since February as Crawley threatened to leave Fortress Rodney Parade with all three points.

But Flynn’s men refused to be beaten and found a way to take something from the game to extend their unbeaten home record to 16 games in League Two.

It could have been more, but a point keeps County in the mix at the top of the table and keeps the momentum going ahead of a tough trip to Colchester.

South Wales Argus:

An opportunity missed, but no ground lost

Whether this result goes down as a point gained or two points dropped remains to be seen, but other results at the top of League Two went County’s way to lessen the impact.

Bradford City were surprisingly beaten at home by Port Vale and leaders Crewe Alexandra were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Colchester.

A win for the Exiles would have seen them climb to second in the table, just a point behind Crewe with a game in hand.

As it is, they remain three points off the top with a game in hand – still an excellent position to be in with 30 per cent of league campaign completed.

Read more: Newport County boss demands ruthless streak after Crawley draw