NEWPORT County AFC manager Michael Flynn believes his side could have pushed Leeds United even closer if they’d taken their chances at Elland Road.

County went 1-0 up in the Carabao Cup clash thanks to captain Joss Labadie’s first-half strike.

Leeds levelled just before the break through Kemar Roofe and the striker went on to complete his hat-trick in the second half before late goals from Sam Saiz and Ronaldo Vieira saw the hosts ease through with a 5-1 win.

But the Exiles can be proud of the way they matched the Championship club in the first half and they went very close to scoring three or four goals of their own.

At 0-0 Sean Rigg was denied by a superb save from former England goalkeeper Rob Green and Shawn McCoulsky’s volley was headed off the line by Vurnon Anita.

At 1-0 Lamar Reynolds’ run on goal was halted by a shirt pull and, even when Flynn’s men were behind, there were still opportunities for Reynolds, Robbie Willmott (below) and substitutes Joe Quigley and Frank Nouble.

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“I thought 5-1 was a bit flattering to Leeds but you’ve seen the quality that a Championship side have got where they take their chances and they anticipate things in the box,” said Flynn.

“I did start to think about winning at 1-0. And even at 2-1 down we had more than enough chances to get back into it.

“We had a lot of chances, good chances, and we didn’t make the most of them.

“We need to be on our toes and prepared to put our necks on the line and get on the end of one.

“You can’t have that many chances away at a Championship side like Leeds and only score one and expect to win.

“You look at the quality they had in the final third,” he added.

“Roofe is a fantastic player at this level. He’s worked his way up from League Two to the Championship and he’s proved he’s moved on as a player. He’s definitely a Championship player now.

“That’s what we were up against. I hope the boys take it on board and learn from it because there were one or two things that I wasn’t happy with.

“But overall I was really happy with some performances and the amount of chances we created.”

Despite his frustrations at the final result, the Exiles boss was pleased with the way his players set about attacking Leeds.

“There were some things that concerned me and I’ve said that to the players,” he said.

“We went 1-0 up and we conceded just before half-time and straight after half-time.

“And with the chances we had to extend our lead and get back into the game it is frustrating but we played some fantastic football.

“The players put in a great shift and even when the score was 4-1 and 5-1 we still created a lot of good chances.

“They kept going to the end and that’s all I can ask for.”

He added: “We came up against a good side and I’d like to say thank-you to Leeds for sharing the gate with us.

“It’s a fantastic gesture and it was a pleasure to bring my football side to play against them.”

Flynn was also full of praise for the support from the 631 travelling fans and he’s looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd on Saturday.

“If they make half as much noise as the 600 made at Elland Road I’ll be more than happy,” he said.

“I thought our fans were just outstanding. They sang from the warm-up right through to the end.

“And to go all that way on a Tuesday night when it should have been at home after four away games, I can’t thank the fans enough.

“We’ll be getting ready for a home game on Saturday now. Hopefully we have more than 5,000 there and we’ll be looking to repay them for all their efforts they’ve put in.”