AT around 5.15pm on Saturday Newport County AFC manager Terry Butcher emerged from the home dressing room at Rodney Parade to fulfil his post-match media duties.

Just 20 minutes after the final whistle that condemned his side to a fourth defeat in five games the Exiles boss waited for Leyton Orient manager Ian Hendon to conclude his interview.

As he did so he turned his back on the journalists gathered to hear his verdict and stared up at the dark sky over the pitch.

As the rain hammered down and the first rumbles of thunder could be heard up above, Butcher stood motionless, save for the occasional shake of the head, lost in his thoughts for several minutes.

After a thoroughly entertaining contest with plenty of positives and negatives from his side he was just as perplexed as everyone else who left the stadium asking ‘how did we lose that one?’

Butcher’s answer was that League Two leaders Orient were more streetwise and his new-look side, at times excellent, were naïve and lacking in experience at the crucial moments.

It’s hard to disagree with that and there was certainly enough evidence to back up his belief that there will be brighter days ahead for County this season, as well as days when they’ll win without playing anywhere near as well as they did on Saturday.

It must also be said that they won’t come up against many better sides than Orient, who look like a good bet for an immediate return to League One.

The visitors were 2-0 up after only seven minutes thanks to a header from Paul McCallum and an unstoppable Jay Simpson effort.

And the Exiles could and should have been dead and buried within the opening half an hour.

County were run ragged in the opening stages as Kevin Feely, returning in place of Kieran Parselle, and Regan Poole struggled to contain the O’s front pairing and Dean Cox pulled the strings.

At that stage it was hard to see how Butcher’s boys could get back into the game but they never stopped pushing and probing and were rewarded for their efforts with two goals in two minutes to stun their opponents, and everyone else in the ground.

First Scott Boden converted Scott Barrow’s cross after good work from Medy Elito and new loan signing Zak Ansah for his third goal of the campaign.

Then, while the home fans were still celebrating that strike, skipper Mark Byrne smashed home a superb equaliser from 25 yards four minutes before the break.

After the interval County were by far the better side, dominating possession and creating chance after chance.

But Feely was denied by Alex Cisak in the Orient goal, while Boden and substitutes Aaron Collins and Josh Laurent missed the target.

And, crucially, Cox converted the visitors’ only real chance of the second half on 59 minutes to once again leave Butcher wondering what might have been.

Asked if he was enjoying himself in the County hot seat, the England legend said: “I’m enjoying it up to a point but you don’t enjoy losing.

“I’m enjoying seeing these boys work hard and develop and some of the football we’ve played is exciting.

“I’m enjoying that but you don’t enjoy it when you lose games, particularly the way we lose games – by shooting ourselves in the foot.

“Orient are very professional, organised and streetwise, whereas we are a little bit naïve.

“The fans have got to be patient and we’ve got to be patient and it will come,” he added.

“The more the team plays together the better they will become.

“But something I can’t really teach them is being streetwise, being ruthless and doing things in a professional way.

“They are very honest boys and perhaps we are too honest and too nice but the more we get kicks in the teeth like this the more determined it makes everybody to make sure we’re the ones who get results like this.”

County: Day; Holmes, Feely, Poole, Barrow, Twumasi; Elito, Byrne, Klukowski (Owen-Evans, 83); Boden (Laurent, 75), Ansah (Collins, 68)

Subs not used: Taylor, Hayden, Parselle, Jones

Orient: Cisak; Clohessy, Baudry, Essam, Shaw; James (Turgott, 53), Pritchard, Moore, Cox (Kashket, 74); Simpson (Palmer, 54), McCallum

Booked: Palmer

Subs not used: Grainger, Moncur, Agyemang, Ling

Referee: Brendan Malone

Attendance: 2,779 (525 Orient)