Matty Dolan and Michael Flynn claim Newport ‘got what they deserved’

Posted Wednesday, March 10, 2021 by PA

Matty Dolan has urged Newport to use the dramatic 2-1 win over Bradford as impetus for a Sky Bet League Two promotion push.

Defender Dolan almost single-handedly swung the game County’s way as he scored twice after Michael Flynn’s side had fallen behind.

First he struck home a superb free-kick which cancelled out Andy Cook’s opener for the Bantams.

Then, in the sixth minute of stoppage time, a Bradford player handled a long throw from Newport’s Mickey Demetriou and Dolan stepped up to win it from the penalty spot with the last kick of the game.

Dolan said: “I back myself with any free-kick and we just kept going. Bradford are a big club and they’ve been on a great run of form so we knew it would be a tough game.

“I think it was a definite handball and we got what we deserved. We need to use this as a catalyst now to push on.”

Newport enjoyed a superb first half to the season and were top of the table. They are now sixth, but very much remain in the hunt for automatic promotion and a place in League One.

Boss Flynn said: “It’s going to go down to the wire. Bradford have been on a really good run of form, so I’m very pleased with the win.

“All the substitutes came on and made an impact. They’ve all got a part to play. When I took over this club, I said we would always fight right until the end and we did that tonight.”

Bradford’s joint manager Mark Trueman said: “We had loads of positives out of that, especially the first half, but we are disappointed to lose the game in the way we did.

“I thought we were the better side.

“We played well up until we got the goal. It came from an individual error, but I always thought we looked like scoring another.

“The referee was very quick to blow his whistle all evening and he didn’t have control of the game. It seemed to me like whoever shouted loudest got the free-kick.”