IT was the manner of defeat that stung when Newport County AFC suffered a 4-1 loss to Port Vale at Rodney Parade on Saturday.
The Exiles were hunting a fourth win on the spin in League Two but imploded in the second half against a strong Valiants side.
It was 2-1 to the visitors at half-time courtesy of finishes by Jayden Stockley either side of Aaron Wildig’s leveller with a trademark run into the box and precise header from Anthony Glennon’s cross.
Things went horrendously wrong at the start of the second half when a mistake by teenage centre-back Nelson Sanca gifted Ethan Chislett a third and the fourth followed through Lorent Tolaj.
County finished with nine men after defenders Ciaran Brennan and Kyle Jameson were red-carded but were spared any more damage by Vale’s poor finishing and goalkeeper Nick Townsend’s heroics.
Here are some talking points from the defeat…
SEEING RED
County were already on their way to defeat when Brennan and then Jameson lost the plot.
The warning signs had been there when Cameron Evans made a wild challenge at 3-1 and was shown a yellow card, then Jameson had his first instance of poor decision-making.
Tolaj’s shot deflected off Bryn Morris and was on its way to the net when the central defender attempted to handle on the line.
It would be generous to state it was instinct given that the ball looped up slowly but thankfully he didn’t prove to be as effective as Nick Townsend and it was a goal rather than a dismissal and a penalty.
Then came Brennan’s mad moment and, while it was hardly assault, the central defender needlessly got himself in a confrontation with Ben Garrity.
The summer signing from Sheffield Wednesday – where he played under Vale boss Darren Moore – shoved the midfielder gently in the face then moved his leg into him.
It was hardly Alan Shearer on Neil Lennon but there seems little point in appealing to the FA against the red card and a three-game ban.
Down to 10 men, Jameson then went bonkers in booting a loose ball into the away section and he is fortunate that it was only a second yellow.
He will hope that it is a one-game ban because it is possible that the FA could charge him with misconduct and extend a suspension.
Jameson has a lot of making up to do whatever his length of absence because he badly let down his teammates, who had to dig deep for what turned out to be another half hour.
The pair owe Sanca an especially big apology after they left the teenager, who had been exposed for the first goal just seconds after coming on and then made a mistake for the third, in a horrible situation when they should have been on the field helping him through.
It could be argued that this was an example of County’s EFL inexperience but this wasn’t Kai Whitmore, Oliver Greaves, Michael Spellman or Hamzad Kargbo making a clanger.
Brennan, 24, played in League One for the Owls while Jameson is 26 on Wednesday and has been in League Two for the last five campaigns.
Their moments of madness will be forgotten if the responses are strong.
EARLY BLOW AND WORRIES FOR WILTSHIRE
It cannot be overemphasised how big the loss of Shane McLoughlin was and wing-back is one area of serious concern after the summer transfer business.
In recent years the club had Ryan Haynes, Liam Shephard and Aaron Lewis as options, then Cam Norman, Aaron Lewis and Adam Lewis.
Now there is no natural back-up for Anthony Glennon down the left while an injury to McLoughlin has exposed County down the right.
They badly missed his energy up and down the flank and there will be some nerves while waiting for the verdict from the specialists after what looked to be an upper calf/knee issue on his left leg.
The Irishman was badly missed for the run-in last season after limping off with a calf issue on the same leg at Milton Keynes and a lengthy absence would be catastrophic.
It would present a big chance for Evans or possibly, with summer signing Joe Thomas sidelined, an opportunity for Josh Seberry to come in from the cold after missing out on recent matchday squads.
The young Irishman was mightily impressive at the start of last season until breaking a leg at Notts County and this could be an opportunity to prove a point to Jardim.
Seberry surely has to come into the mix for the matchday squad Swindon on Saturday given that McLoughlin is likely to join James Clarke on the sidelines with Brennan and Jameson suspended.
Bryn Morris could even be deployed as an emergency central defender to give some assistance to young Sanca.
Wales Under-21s play on Tuesday night in Iceland and County desperately need Matt Baker to get off the pitch at Reykjavik unscathed.
PERSPECTIVE NEEDED
County lost to a side that look likely to be in the promotion mix so no need to panic after that, it was just the implosion and implications for Swindon that hurts.
The Exiles should have had a point, maybe three, in defeat at Cheltenham while they rode their luck in victory against Accrington and Morecambe.
There have been good and good spells but County sit on nine points to help them to problem-solve and develop as the weeks pass.
This is a completely new side containing a raft of League Two novices while trying to adopt a new approach.
That is why they could have done with a few figures calming things down against Port Vale to avoid the chaos, allowing them to dust themselves down and just go again for Swindon.
That will still be the approach from Jardim and his staff, they just now have some extra headaches to deal with when plotting for the next assignment.
“I would rather lose one game 4-1 than four in a row,” said the head coach, who now needs to ensure that quote doesn’t come back to bite him after Swindon (away), Barrow (away) and Crewe (home).
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