A TOTAL of 147 Newport County AFC supporters made the trek to Boundary Park on Saturday and several of them reportedly departed for the nearest pub at half-time. You can’t blame them.

Hosts Oldham Athletic were only 2-0 up at the break thanks to two rapid-fire goals in three minutes midway through the first half, but they were in complete control.

There seemed very little prospect of a County fightback and so it proved as the Latics added three more goals in the second half to secure their biggest win in the league since 2007.

Michael Flynn’s men were dominated from start to finish on a day when any hopes of a late push for the League Two play-offs was surely extinguished.

The Exiles defence, so solid throughout the season, has now shipped nine goals in two games and there was very little resistance to the Blue tide on Saturday.

While Oldham’s Curaçaoan goalkeeper Zeus De La Paz barely had a save to make all afternoon as County’s toothless attack managed just one shot on target throughout.

“We got played off the park,” said Flynn. “The game-plan worked for the first 20 minutes. We did alright. “We started well but then, to concede the rubbish that we conceded, we just carried on from Tuesday night, really.

“We were dreadful in defence.”

What made it worse was that the pitiful performance came against crisis club Oldham who were issued with a winding-up petition for the second time this season on Friday and are in real danger of going into administration and incurring a 12-point deduction this week.

It looked like the perfect time to play Dino Maamria’s men, who were told last week that their wages would be paid late, but the chaos seemed to fire them up and County proved the perfect opponents.

South Wales Argus:

“It was a big day for us,” said Maamria, who was assistant manager at Rodney Parade under Graham Westley in the 2016-2017 season.

“We showed what we’re about. When the going gets tough, the tough get going and we showed what we’re about.

“It was a very good day for Oldham Athletic, a very good day for our fans.

“It’s brilliant and the credit must go to the players.

“It’s been a difficult week,” he added. “I had to address the players before the game. I spoke to all of them in a group message and I thought the players’ application was second to none.

“I thought they showed a lot of desire, a lot of togetherness and we showed what we’re all about as a team and as a club.

“We shouldn’t be where we are in the league, but we are where we are.

“We’ve got 10 games to go and we’ve got to build on this result and this performance. We can take a lot of confidence from that.”

Confidence is pretty low for the Exiles right now.

After a run of just four wins in 21 league matches, this is as bad as it’s been during Flynn’s reign and the manager admitted after the match that his job is now on the line.

Whether he’s actually under any real pressure from the board remains to be seen but this does feel like a crucial time for Flynn and his team.

There is more than just pride to play for over the final 12 games of the season.

County must ensure that Saturday was the lowest point before a revival rather than the beginning of the end of a successful era.

County: King; Willmott (Howkins, 56), Inniss, Demetriou, Haynes; Khan (Collins, 46), Sheehan, Gorman, Nurse; Amond, Matt (Dolan, 75)

Subs not used: Abrahams, Green

Referee: Tom Bramall

Attendance: 2,912 (147 County)

Read more: The talking points from Oldham Athletic 5 Newport County 0