Barnet boss Dean Brennan insisted an FA Cup replay against League Two Newport was the least his side deserved after Danny Collinge’s 89th-minute header earned the National League outfit a 1-1 draw at Rodney Parade.
The Bees are just 12 places below the Exiles in the football pyramid, but four successive defeats had derailed their promotion bid in recent weeks.
They looked full of confidence, however, as they took the game to their hosts on a bitterly cold south Wales afternoon.
Newport thought they had done enough to earn a place in the third round for the first time since 2021 as Shane McLoughlin put them 1-0 up in the 44th minute.
Bryn Morris hit a post with a free-kick before that goal and Omar Bogle was denied a second late on, but Barnet dominated possession all afternoon.
Nicke Kabamba saw one effort cleared off the line by Ryan Delaney and was also denied by goalkeeper Nick Townsend before Collinge headed in from close range to snatch a late draw.
“We deserved at least a draw, our performance was very strong,” said Brennan. “To come here and only give them one corner, that shows our dominance in possession – without having that killer punch. But we got it in the end with a deserved equaliser.
“Danny Collinge was immense, I thought he was the best player on the pitch – a real leader and he deserved that goal.
“The biggest thing for us was to stop the rot and show that character. We didn’t come here for a draw, we played expansive football and showed tons of bravery and we got our rewards.
“I’m delighted for the travelling fans. We’ve had a tough few weeks, but we kept going, kept believing in our philosophy and played some really good football.”
County manager Graham Coughlan was frustrated to see the win snatched away at the death, but he admitted Barnet were the better side.
“We are still in the cup,” said Coughlan. “We had chances to put the game to bed but we didn’t, they were better than us and we got out of jail.
“They put us under pressure and started the game right – their mentality was right and ours wasn’t.
“We had a long week, while they had the week off; they were fresh and we weren’t, but they also looked after the ball better than us.
“We kept turning the ball over and giving it away. We were very flat and tired and paid the ultimate penalty at the end of the game.
“It was a real stern test and we won’t be that bad when it comes to the next game at their place. We weren’t good.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
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