WILL the real Newport County AFC please stand up?

Over the past five weeks the Exiles have been the archetypal Jekyll & Hyde team – excellent one week and execrable the next.

County have been magnificent against the top teams and mediocre at best against sides struggling at the wrong end of the table.

Creditable draws against Luton Town and Coventry City have been followed by dismal defeats at home to Crewe Alexandra and Stevenage.

And last week’s impressive victory over play-off chasing Swindon Town counted for nothing as they produced a dire display at Barnet on Saturday.

The hosts looked like a side who were desperate for the win. The visitors looked like a team with nothing to play for.

And once Shaquile Coulthirst fired in from close range after 10 minutes it was clear that the relegation-battlers would claim all three points.

Matty Dolan headed against the bar shortly after the opener but they did not register a shot on target all afternoon and there was little fight on display as they meekly surrendered to defeat.

Ricardo Santos confirmed the result as he headed past Joe Day from a corner on 82 minutes but the Bees should have been out of sight well before then.

Dan Butler and Mickey Demetriou both cleared off the line in the first half and Day pulled off a series of saves to deny the likes of Coulthirst, John Akinde, Richard Brindley and Curtis Weston.

Dolan and Ben Tozer, so good against Swindon last week, struggled to make any kind of impact in the centre of midfield.

Robbie Willmott and Aaron Collins were anonymous and Padraig Amond, who finally broke his goal drought against Swindon, was again a frustrated figure up front.

Tozer and Collins were withdrawn at half-time with Frank Nouble and Paul Hayes introduce in an attempt to offer Amond more support.

There was a slight improvement but Flynn’s men never seriously threatened to rip any points from Barnet’s grasp.

South Wales Argus:

And, while he has defended his side for poor performances at times over the last few months, the manager was clear that this display was unacceptable.

“I can’t stomach that performance,” he said while still fuming on the touchline at The Hive.

“We prepared as usual and nobody would have seen that performance coming.

“It’s the fans I feel sorry for, those that travelled here, because that performance was something that I will not put up with.

“We can all have bad games but the most disappointing thing for me was that we didn’t have any fight. That’s what I can’t handle.”

Flynn has spoken about his side’s ability to raise their game against the division’s big boys and he will hope that they can continue that trend at home to champions-elect Accrington Stanley tomorrow night.

John Coleman’s men need just a point to be crowned League Two kings but they romped to a 4-0 victory at third-placed Wycombe Wanderers and it could be a long night for the Exiles unless they improve dramatically.

County can still reach the target set by Flynn last week of a record points tally since their return to the Football League and finish the campaign on a real high.

But the players will know that they must show much greater desire and quality than they did in this match to avoid a positive season ending in even more disappointment, frustration and apathy.

County: Day; White, Bennett (Jahraldo-Martin, 78), Demetriou; Pipe, Dolan, Tozer (Nouble, 46), Butler; Willmott; Collins (Hayes, 46), Amond

Subs not used: Bittner, Reid, O’Brien, Sheehan

Booked: Demetriou, Tozer

Referee: Robert Lewis

Attendance: 1,816 (240 County)