AFTER the events of Saturday it’s not the best time for Newport County AFC to be ‘welcoming’ Luton Town to Rodney Parade tonight.

Blackpool boss Gary Bowyer and his players and staff may well have provoked Exiles fans in the Hazell Stand but there is simply no excuse for anyone throwing anything onto the pitch.

Bowyer claimed that he was hit by sweets and there was also at least one plastic bottle thrown from the stand.

County caretaker manager Michael Flynn was forced to step in to tell a minority of the club’s fans to calm down and prevent the unsavoury scenes from developing into something even more serious.

But Bowyer was right to label the incident as “disgraceful” and demand that action be taken.

And in a statement the club has confirmed that one teenager was arrested and is set to face a ban from the stadium, while also appealing for information to identify other culprits.

It’s the last thing that County need in their current situation when everyone’s attention should be fully focused on getting the wins needed to sustain hope of escaping relegation.

It’s an embarrassment and will more than likely lead to a fine that the club can ill-afford.

And it means there will be even greater scrutiny on the behaviour of supporters at tonight’s home clash with Luton.

The Hatters are guaranteed to get a hostile reception after the events at Kenilworth Road back in August when a dubious 97th-minute penalty gave the hosts a controversial 2-1 win.

After the match Luton rubbed salt into the Exiles’ wounds with their comments to the media.

Rhondda-born boss Nathan Jones said: “There was a lot of antics going on in the game.

“My keeper had his foot stamped on. They were making it difficult. They were playing their kind of game against us so we had to stand up to that and we did.

“With the size and the aggression and antics that they have they will cause teams problems and we stood up to that.”

South Wales Argus:

But midfielder Cameron McGeehan (above), who had netted twice from the spot, went for the jugular.

“I think they cheat,” he said. “They elbow you off the ball, stamp on your foot, they're big, nasty and they're cheats themselves.”

He added: "They're a rough team and they foul a lot. They're a horrible team and they're sore losers.

"They came with a game plan and it didn't work because we won the game.

“All they wanted to do was scrap it out, time-waste, kill the game and they're the type of team that give League Two a bad reputation because they just kill the game and play long.

“It's not nice but, obviously, they have to do what they have to do because they haven't got the quality of players that we have.”

Those are words that were made to be rammed down the throat of the mouthy moptop.

Unfortunately McGeehan will not have to face the music at Rodney Parade after breaking his leg at Portsmouth in January.

Then County manager Warren Feeney – who was so incensed after the match – is long gone, of course.

And, of the starting XI on August 16, only Joe Day, Dan Butler, Scot Bennett and Sean Rigg are likely to start tonight.

As Flynn said when asked about the match, it was a long time ago, a lot of water has gone under the bridge and he has more pressing matters to attend to.

But the County fans certainly won’t have forgotten the way the Luton players and manager conducted themselves in the reverse match.

And nor should they. County need their fans to make Rodney Parade an intimidating place for opposition teams to come.

Giving the visitors’ stick and perhaps influencing the referee’s decisions in your favour is all part of creating a home advantage.

But what happened during the Blackpool game took things a step too far.

A hostile atmosphere is fine but certain supporters crossed the line on Saturday.

What the Exiles need tonight is controlled aggression in the stands and on the pitch.

Despite defeat on Saturday, if Flynn’s men can gain revenge against Luton in their game in hand they will move to within four points of safety with eight matches still to play.

The Great Escape is still possible and the club could do without any more unnecessary distractions.