Stockport 2 County 2

YOU only get a point for a draw, but sometimes it can feel like a whole lot more.

One would be astonished if that wasn’t the case for Justin Edinburgh’s Newport County after a smash- and-grab raid at Edgeley Park nabbed them an incredibly unexpected share of the spoils as their super sub did the business once again.

Make no mistake; this was the ultimate bonus on a day where no other side in the Conference was able to kick a ball in anger save for the two Countys.

And Stockport will still be scratching their heads, wondering how on earth they failed to win a game they dominated for around 70 of the 90 minutes.

But to throw another footballing cliché your way, fortune favours the brave and Justin Edinburgh’s attitude of ‘if we are going to lose by one we may as well gamble and lose by four’ paid off handsomely. This was aggressive management from Edinburgh and his side responded with a final quarter when down to ten men to make their travelling supporters proud.

Edinburgh has spoken of his excitement at the squad he now has available but County were unrecognisable in the first half from the sumptuous midweek win over Carshalton in the FA Trophy.

The stakes were far higher on Saturday, yet you wouldn’t have known it as the Exiles played with a pre-season- friendly tempo and the hosts tore into them.

That left Newport exposed defensively, a situation not helped by a collectively poor showing from the back four.

Just six minutes were on the clock when the host County took the lead, Newport failing to deal with a routine set piece. Striker Tom Elliott was given time to nod the ball down and he teed up Danny Rowe, who took a touch, set himself and easily beat Glyn Thompson as Gary Warren and Andrew Hughes parted as if Moses was in the vicinity. The pair then remonstrated with each other, which is never a good sign. Newport were a shambles at the back for the next 20 minutes or so and only good fortune kept the score at just 1-0. Elliott should’ve done better than head straight at Thompson on 15 minutes and Joe Connor wasn’t far wide with a header just past the half-hour.

The best Newport could muster in retaliation were speculative efforts from distance with neither Adam Chapman nor Sam Foley able to find their range.

Sean McConville fired just wide as County tried to contain Stockport before the break, but seconds later they missed a golden, golden chance.

When Warren completely misjudged a header Elliott went clean through and rounded Thompson, ready to tuck the ball into an empty net. However, Warren sensationally managed to get within range and executed the perfect sliding tackle to not only prevent a certain goal but also a penalty and a red card which would certainly have headed his way had he mistimed it by a millisecond.

Things couldn’t be much more one-sided and after some carefully considered half-time words – or a rocket, perhaps more likely – the Exiles came out a side transformed.

Less than five minutes after the restart they won a free kick, and when it broke to the edge of the area Andy Sandell set himself and fired low and hard into the corner of the net with his right foot. It was a splendid goal and for a few moments Newport looked likely to go on and possibly push for a winner.

However, fate intervened in the shape of the officials, who reduced County to ten men just past the hour. Sandell tried to run McConville out of touch in a fairly innocuous-looking incident, Sandell admitting to the fact his hand made contact with McConville’s face. The Stockport man went down as if he’d been hit by a sniper, and after a pirouette or two on the ground the home fans were baying for a card. The linesman very half-heartedly raised a flag long after the incident, and after consulting him referee Darren Bond produced a red card, much to the Exiles’ incredulity.

Newport were still remonstrating with the official, who was neither shaken nor stirred by the controversy, and within seconds he awarded Stockport a free kick 20 yards out that the impressive Rowe drilled around the wall and into the corner of the net.

From then on it was like watching the Alamo as Stockport piled forward looking to kill the game off, and Newport, to their credit, not only refused to die but instead adopted a more and more attacking shape.

Thompson twice saved from Rowe, who then walloped the crossbar as County just about hung on at 2-1.

With eight minutes remaining Elliott again had a golden chance, but this time Thompson denied him with a superb point-blank save.

Substitute Danny M Rowe then blasted right across goal when several of his team-mates were unmarked.

And with just two minutes remaining, potentially the defining moment of their season arrived as Lee Minshull’s strong run and cross was tapped home by super sub Jake Harris, who now has eight goals in just over two hours of football with Newport.

What a precious moment it could prove to be!