NEWPORT County AFC manager Graham Coughlan praised his players for learning from their mistakes as they beat Barnet 4-1 in Tuesday night’s FA Cup second-round replay.

After conceding late at Rodney Parade in the first game, the Exiles stormed out of the blocks at The Hive with three goals in the first 25 minutes.

Coughlan’s men will now host Barnet’s National League rivals Eastleigh in the third round in January, and Coughlan was pleased with the reaction of his side.

“I think we learned from the first game,” said the Irishman. “We got our tactics spot on.

“All plaudits go to the lads for what they’ve done, as that was a really tough game.

“Dean Brennan has got his team playing really well and with confidence, and they pass the ball really well.

“They’ve got some dangerous players and we knew it was going to be tough. But it was emphatic in the end.

“It just takes one incident, or one lack of concentration, to flip the game on its head,” he added. “So, it’s very difficult to relax.”

County took a sixth-minute lead when Omar Bogle crossed for Lewis Payne to fire home at the far post, before the two swapped roles eight minutes later when the striker netted from Payne’s centre.

The tie looked over after 25 minutes when Danny Collinge – whose late equaliser in the first tie earned the replay – headed past goalkeeper Laurie Walker from a Nick Townsend goal-kick and into his own net.

Barnet had a lifeline when they hit back in the 37th minute, after Harry Pritchard scored from close range – although replays showed he handled the ball.

Idris Kanu hit the bar from 25 yards out in the 66th minute, the hosts’ best chance of the second half.

But the impressive Seb Palmer-Houlden made sure of victory 10 minutes later when he raced on to a long ball from Scot Bennett and finished coolly.

Bogle agreed with his manager’s assessment after a much-improved display.

“We were better than we were in the first game; we didn’t execute the game plan like we wanted to in the first game, but we did it down to a T this time,” said the 31-year-old striker, who scored his seventh goal of the season and his first since October.

“They dominated possession, and it was about us getting our press right and keeping our shape.

“We were disappointed to give them a goal just before half time, but we did well to see it out.”

Bogle told ITV after the game that he would like to face Arsenal in round four, though he knows that Eastleigh will be no pushovers.

“It will be another tough challenge,” he said. “We know they’re a good team. The National League has got a lot of good quality in it. We won’t take anything for granted.”