NEWPORT County AFC manager Graham Coughlan hailed his side’s resilience and the character of goal hero Mickey Demetriou after the captain’s 95th-minute winner at Barrow.
Demetriou, who was at fault for both goals as County lost 2-0 at Carlisle United in their previous match on the road, sealed a vital victory at Holker Street with his last-gasp header.
The 1-0 result followed last week’s 2-1 home win over Swindon Town who, like Barrow, are chasing promotion to League One.
It lifted the Exiles to 18th in the table, eight points clear of the relegation zone and Coughlan was delighted – even if he admitted his side were fortunate to win after Barrow had Ryan Feely controversially sent off on 81 minutes for a foul on Adam Lewis.
Scot Bennett and Mickey Demetriou of Newport County celebrate Demetriou scoring a headed goal in the 95th minute to win the game. Picture: Huw Evans Picture Agency
“To win the game late on, it’s a great feeling,” said the boss. “And I’m delighted for Mickey Demetriou because he has had a tough couple of weeks, and he has responded like a true captain.
“I am delighted for the lads in general. We probably didn’t deserve to win the game today, but we deserved a little bit of fortune because that is certainly something that has evaded us over my tenure.
“We didn’t start the game too brightly – we were on the back foot and that’s not us. We made a lot of mistakes, we conceded territory, we were sloppy with the ball, and we did and awful lot of daft basic errors that I don’t normally see.
“But, overall, I thought the lads managed the game extremely well,” added Coughlan.
“It was a very professional performance and a real good resilient team performance.
“The character was there, the professionalism and managing the game – all of the things that we spoke about in the week before coming up to Barrow.
“It was a satisfying win given the character, the resilience and mentality we have shown.”
After a first victory at Holker Street since 2012 and a first in the Football League since 1964, County will aim to make it three wins on the bounce against promotion hopefuls when they host second-placed Stevenage at Rodney Parade on Tuesday night.
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