IT’S said that revenge is a dish best served cold and, while many travelling fans shunned the vegan fare on offer at The New Lawn, they relished a hammering that was almost five years in the making.

This was the first league meeting between Newport County AFC and near neighbours Forest Green since New Year’s Day 2013, when a rampant Rovers won 5-0 at Rodney Parade.

And it could hardly have gone any better as far as the 815 County fans were concerned. It was worth the wait.

Manager Michael Flynn, who was a key part of the Exiles midfield back in 2013, described his side’s display as ‘faultless’ and it was one of those afternoons when everything clicked.

Flynn had demanded a more ruthless edge from his side in the build-up and predicted that they were close to scoring a hatful if they could start taking more of the numerous chances they have been creating of late.

And the players delivered in spades, ripping into Rovers and finally getting the rewards they deserved for their dominance.

Padraig Amond again showed exactly why he was County’s number one transfer target all summer with two close-range finishes in the first half.

The first, a header, arrived after 15 minutes as Scot Bennett knocked Matty Dolan’s corner back into the danger zone and the second was a tap-in after Frank Nouble’s turn and shot four minutes before the interval.

It was the first time that the Exiles had led 2-0 at the break since last November at Notts County.

And, rather than hanging on at the end, they crushed any hopes of a Forest Green fightback with two more goals in the closing stages.

Scot Bennett fired in from a Ben Tozer long throw on 78 minutes and substitute Shawn McCoulsky produced a bullet header to finish off Dan Butler’s perfect cross and finish off the hosts.

That final goal, four minutes from the end, sparked a mass exodus amongst the home fans who suffered every bit as much as their County counterparts at Rodney Parade all those years ago.

The amber army made the short trip back to Newport dreaming of a play-off push as their side climbed to sixth in the League Two table – just three points off the automatic promotion places.

Flynn is not going to let anyone get carried away inside the changing room but he was delighted that his side put on a show for the supporters.

“We had over 800 travelling,” he said. “It’s an outstanding effort from our fans.

“We’ll have tough days, we’ll have bad results, we’ll have bad performances but the players really appreciate that these fans give up their time and money to support us and it goes a long way.”

The manager is also delighted by the spirit within his squad and the fact that competition for places is not harming team unity.

“This is what I want; I want competition and the boys are not letting me down in that respect,” he added.

“We’ve got subs coming on and making a difference and all the players who didn’t get on were cheering the boys on.

“We’ve got a real good camp at the moment and everyone is as important as the ones who are starting.”

We are now more than a quarter of the way into the new campaign and there is no sign of the feel good factor fading at Rodney Parade.

The manager, players and fans will hope to ride that wave for as long as possible.

There will be many ups and downs to come between now and May but, on this evidence, it could take them a long way.

County: Day; Demetriou, Bennett, White; Butler, Tozer, Dolan, Pipe (O’Brien, 77); Labadie (Owen-Evans, 88); Nouble (McCoulsky, 81), Amond

Subs not used: Barnum-Bobb, Rigg, Reynolds, Quigley

Booked: Bennett, Labadie, White

Referee: Carl Boyeson

Attendance: 2,864 (815 County)