TYREEQ Bakinson scored the only goal of the game to condemn his former club Newport County AFC to defeat at Plymouth Argyle. Here are the talking points...
Bakinson back to haunt the Exiles
There was a grim sense of inevitability about the identity of the Plymouth scorer as the former Exiles loan star benefitted from some slack marking and a lenient linesman to tap in at the far post from a fifth-minute corner.
While there was more than a hint of offside, there was no question of Bakinson not celebrating a goal against his former club. After checking for a flag, he ran to the home fans pumping his arms with a big grin on his face.
The 21-year-old can’t be blamed for that and most County fans will wish him well. Hopefully he can maintain his bright start with the Pilgrims and avoid the late-season dip in form he experienced last season.
Officials upset both sides
Referee Ollie Yates and his assistants didn’t exactly endear themselves to either side or the supporters at a raucous Home Park.
Plymouth were aggrieved at the straight red card shown to captain Gary Sawyer for a crunching challenge on the impressive Jordan Green five minutes from the end.
And Michael Flynn insisted the goal was offside, thought Sawyer only deserved a yellow and also criticised the amount of time Yates added on at the end when his side were chasing an equaliser.
County competitive, but not clinical
Once again, Flynn’s men showed that they can compete with the top sides in League Two with an excellent performance in Devon.
Despite going behind so early on to a disputed goal and losing both starting full-backs to injury, the visitors were more than a match for Ryan Lowe’s promotion favourites on their own patch.
Green, Robbie Willmott, Josh Sheehan, George Nurse and Padraig Amond created plenty of opportunities but Amond, Matt and Labadie all failed to put the ball in the net.
Mickey Demetriou was unlucky to see his free-kick crash back off the angle of post and bar, but Flynn admitted that his side was not clinical enough – a complaint he’s been making all season.
Plymouth fans celebrating like they've won promotion. Tells you how hard County made them work for the points. Flynn's men very unlucky to go home empty-handed
— Argus on County (@argusoncounty) February 1, 2020
Celebrations tell a story
A number of Plymouth supporters on Twitter were upset by our assertion that fans at Home Park ‘celebrated like they’d won promotion’ after the final whistle.
It may have triggered a Pilgrims backlash, but the post was not meant as a criticism of the home fans. They are perfectly entitled to celebrate a hard-earned three points after hanging on with 10 men.
But the passion shown in the stands and by the players on the pitch after the win, something that was acknowledged by the club’s official Twitter account, just highlighted how hard they’d had to battle for the points and how well the Exiles had performed.
The full-time scenes.
— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Only1Argyle) February 1, 2020
This is what today's win meant to the Green Army 💚#pafc pic.twitter.com/VazK19CnT1
Read more: Newport County boss frustrated after by 1-0 defeat at Plymouth Argyle
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