MANAGER Michael Flynn hailed his Newport County AFC pace-setters after their dramatic 2-1 win against Harrogate Town, although he threatened to throttle them for leaving it late for the second time in a week.

Defender Brandon Cooper’s thumping header from an 88th minute corner secured the spoils at Rodney Parade, moving the Exiles five points clear of Cambridge in League Two.

It looked like hard-working Harrogate were going to frustrate County despite playing with 10 men for the entire second half.

Padraig Amond had put the Exiles in front with a wonderful team goal before visiting captain Josh Falkingham was dismissed for a second booking.

Will Smith levelled from a corner from the right before the break but the Yorkshiremen were undone by Scott Twine’s set piece from the left at the death.

County had repeated the trick after beating Colchester United 2-1 thanks to a Amond’s last-gasp winner from a corner on Tuesday.

South Wales Argus: WINNER: Brandon Cooper won it at the deathWINNER: Brandon Cooper won it at the death

“I want to strangle them! It’s not doing my blood pressure any good,” said Flynn.

“We didn’t really have too many clear-cut opportunities but we had a lot of positions that we should have done better in.

"But we have won and I am delighted. I thought we played some very good stuff, slow at times and a little bit sloppy at times because we are looking for the killer pass.

“It’s a great win because I have a lot of respect for Harrogate, their hard work was refreshing and they stuck to their jobs.

“It was an unbelievable header – the timing, the delivery and the sheer determination to get on the end of it.

“He’s lucky that he didn’t hit his head on the bar! He rose that high and aggressively, that was a proper header.”

County have responded to their narrow loss at Cambridge with five victories on the spin. Their only other dropped points came on opening day when they drew at Scunthorpe.

“I am over the moon – 10 games in, 25 points. The players have done fantastically well but we can still improve,” said Flynn, who takes his team to Carlisle on Tuesday.

“The pleasing thing is that we can still get better. With a bit of luck with injuries and suspensions hopefully we can keep this run going.”

“I am not getting carried away at all because we can still improve. When we are hitting top form consistently and winning comfortably it will be harder for me to keep a lid on it. I am really happy but I am also realistic.

“It’s 18 points in a month. That’s unheard of here, and unheard of in most places. I am over the moon.”

Flynn hailed the impact made by his substitutes after Robbie Willmott, Jamie Proctor and debutant Jamie Devitt were called from the bench.

“The subs came on and changed things. That shows how important the togetherness of the squad is because they came on and created more opportunities for us,” he said.

South Wales Argus: NIGGLE: Liam Shephard set up the first but has a knee problemNIGGLE: Liam Shephard set up the first but has a knee problem “One or two look a bit tired,” continued Flynn. “Liam Shephard had a lump on his knee so we had to be careful with him while we lost Matty Dolan before the game with a massive abscess on his tooth.

“He took antibiotics but an hour before kick-off it really swelled up and it looks nasty. I think he will have to have the tooth out tomorrow because it is that bad. He couldn’t have played if he had wanted to.”

County travel to Carlisle on Tuesday, repeating the last trip they made before lockdown.