TIME will tell if this win was a turning point in the season, but it was undoubtedly a step in the right direction for Newport County AFC and a huge relief for everyone connected with the club.

County’s 10-game winless streak in the league, that overnight-stay ‘hoodoo’ stretching back to October, 2018 and the 41-year wait for a win in Scunthorpe – all gone with the wind on Saturday.

Manager Michael Flynn admitted that his side were “terrible” in the first half as they trailed 1-0 thanks to Abo Eisa’s stunning strike seven minutes before the break at a blustery and bleak Glanford Park.

But, frankly, he won’t give a damn about that after late goals from substitute Jamille Matt and top scorer Padraig Amond earned his side three points for the first time since the last time these sides met – at Rodney Parade on October 19.

Flynn felt his players dealt with the difficult conditions better than their hosts and they did to Scunthorpe what had been done to them at Morecambe before Christmas.

“The wind usually helps [when it’s behind you] but I don’t think it helped either team,” said the Exiles boss.

“But I thought we did things better with the wind against us than what they did to us in the first half.

“We pinned them in their box and we took our chances.

“It was the opposite to Morecambe. At Morecambe we were outstanding in the first half and terrible in the second half.

“Here we were terrible in the first half and outstanding in the second half. It was chalk and cheese.”

Scunthorpe had striker Lee Novak sent off for lashing out at Ryan Inniss just after Matt had tucked away the rebound from a Tristan Abrahams shot in the 72nd minute and just before Amond swept home Inniss’ knockdown from Ryan Haynes’ free-kick on 76 minutes.

Their manager Paul Hurst said after the match that he would appeal the red card and claimed that Inniss should have been dismissed in the first half.

“The referee missed a blatant red card in the first half from Inniss on John McAtee,” said Hurst.

“John’s leg is straight and it (the challenge) is around John’s knee. He is extremely fortunate he didn’t catch him properly.

“I have not seen more of a red card and he (the referee) missed it.

“He was getting pelters from their bench and I said to him don’t try and be influenced.

“You are looking for him to take a strong line with everything but you can hear the crowd’s frustration. He will come under scrutiny.”

Despite Hurst’s unhappiness with the referee he did admit that his side didn’t do enough to win.

“It was a horrible game and we expected that because of how Newport play, the conditions and the pitch,” he continued. “They all contributed to what you saw.

“It suited Newport better. When we got the ball down and played we looked the better team but in the second half, when we had the wind, we struggled to get out.

“I don’t think we got high enough up the pitch defensively and it was difficult to mount too many attacks. It was a scrappy, horrible game and there was no fluency.”

Scrappy? Yes. Horrible? Not for those viewing it through amber-tinted spectacles.

Leaders Swindon Town will provide a sterner test when they come to Rodney Parade next weekend, but County will hope to point to this game as the moment that their fortunes changed.

County: King, Inniss, O’Brien (Matt, 58), Demetriou, Haynes, Bennett, Sheehan, Nurse, Labadie, Amond, Abrahams

Subs not used: Townsend, Howkins, Woodiwiss, Gorman, Dolan, Collins

Booked: Inniss, Labadie, Flynn, Amond

Referee: Scott Oldham

Attendance: 3,001x