NEWPORT County’s Mike Flynn admits he’s bursting with pride at the efforts of the Exiles’ youth team, on a week of highs and lows for the academy boss.

The Exiles midfielder has enjoyed a good week on a personal level, having passed his UEFA A Licence course as he looks to the future and a life after playing.

However, he endured a tough evening on Tuesday when County’s youth team were beaten 5-3 on penalties by Cardiff City in the semi-final of the FAW Youth Cup at Barry’s Jenner Park.

It was harsh on County who missed a few good chances to win the contest and who were unluckily reduced to ten men for what looked more like a refereeing error than a mistake from the player in question, Spencer Wood.

And despite missing out on a first Youth Cup final in a decade, the Exiles have every reason to feel proud, according to Flynn.

“I text every single one of the boys this morning to tell them not to look back with anything but pride, they did magnificently,” Flynn told the Argus.

“There is no shame in losing on penalties to a team like Cardiff and I honestly believe that for much of the game, we were the better side.

“They started brightly but I thought we bossed the remainder of the first half and deserved our goal.

“They were camped in our half at the start of the second half, but in the final 20 and extra time, until the sending off, we felt like there was only one winner.

“I’ve had an awful lot of praise from people at the game; including (former Wales international) Craig Bellamy and the lads absolutely deserve it.”

Flynn felt the team ethos of the young Exiles is the thing that bodes best for the future.

“Ultimately that is what it is about, trying to make players ready for the Newport County first team,” Flynn explained.

“Part of that is about having that pride and passion in playing for Newport and my lads are absolutely devastated to lose on penalties, Ben Brooks, who missed his, was inconsolable.

“But it wasn’t a case of anyone being at fault, we win together and we lose together and the lads are a very close group.”

Flynn was happy the contest served as a tribute to Corey Price, the Barry youngster killed in Friday’s Brecon Beacons crash and a former teammate of several Newport and Cardiff players.

“The boys wanted to play the game, the boys on both teams,” Flynn said.

“They wanted to honour their mate and by playing a good game, in the right spirit, that’s what they did.”