5 things we learned from Cheltenham Town 1 Newport County 1

1. The spirit is definitely there

County once again showed their new-found character as they refused to be beaten – picking themselves up from what could have been a hammer blow to battle back to parity.

It could and should have been more but a point was the least that the Exiles deserved and the spirit they showed bodes well for the weeks and months ahead.

2. The fans are playing their part

The scenes at the end as the players and the 841 traveling fans celebrated Jaanai Gordon’s goal (above) were a joy to witness and a real lift for everyone.

County are now four unbeaten, they’ve got the supporters believing that the Great Escape is on and Graham Westley rightly talked up the part the Amber Army played in securing another precious point towards that goal.

3. Pitch imperfect

So it’s not just the Rodney Parade playing surface that makes pretty football pretty much impossible. Whaddon Road, home to Gloucester City as well as Cheltenham Town, is almost as bad.

The Exiles made use of the ‘Dark Ages’ football, as Westley called it this week, that has proved so effective on their own turf of late. The free-flowing stuff will have to wait for Cambridge in a fortnight.

4. Gordon’s alive!

It’s been a tough few weeks out of the first team picture for the youngster on loan from West Ham after what was an underwhelming debut at Stevenage a month ago.

But the forward has earned his recall with three goals for the reserves and he took his chance with an expert finish under pressure to prove his talent.

5. Rigg’s return a big boost

All three substitutes made a positive impact in the closing stages as Josh Sheehan set up the goal for Gordon and Sean Rigg (above) added an extra edge to the attack.

He showed how much he’s been missed for the past month with a dynamic display driving forward from behind the strikers and causing opposing defenders plenty of headaches.