The talking points from Newport County 1 Stevenage 1

Late leveller could be a turning point

It looked like being another frustrating afternoon for the Exiles and their fans with a fifth successive league defeat on the cards after Josh Sheehan’s early mistake.

It could have been worse for County after a shocking start, but they battled hard and at least created enough chances to merit a point at the death.

And one moment of quality from George Nurse and a fine header from Jamille Matt were enough to halt the losing run.

A home draw with the bottom-but-one club is not usually something to celebrate but rescuing a point was a big relief and it gives County something to build on when they head to basement boys Morecambe next Saturday.

Matt gets the goal he desperately needed

If you had to pick one man to get the all-important goal it would have been Jamille Matt who has endured a difficult start to the season with only two goals before Saturday.

The striker enjoyed the most prolific campaign of his career last time out with 20 goals, but he’s been out of sorts so far this term.

Matt admitted afterwards that the lack of goals had been weighing on his mind and hopefully yesterday’s crucial header will be the shot in the arm that he and the team required.

Injuries and illness played their part

County were already without Kyle Howkins, Dan Leadbitter, Robbie Willmott, Joss Labadie, Corey Whitely, Keanu Marsh-Brown and Ade Azeez this weekend.

They then lost Ryan Inniss to mumps before the game, while Matty Dolan was playing with a chest infection and Danny McNamara with a groin problem.

And Mark O’Brien was also forced off after taking a blow to the head and throwing up at half-time, meaning both Mickey Demetriou and Scot Bennett were forced to play longer than planned on their return from injury.

Demetriou’s return a big boost

There was one piece of good news before kick-off with the welcome return of Mickey Demetriou to the starting XI after 17 weeks on the sidelines due to a broken leg.

In an ideal world, Michael Flynn would have eased the centre-back in gently but that wasn’t possible due to the absence of Kyle Howkins and Ryan Inniss and he completed the full 90 minutes.

Demetriou looked a little tentative in the early stages and a bit leggy by the end, but he produced one vital tackle to prevent a second goal and he will only get better.

Read more: Newport County boss hails his side's character after Stevenage draw