Graham Coughlan vented his fury at the officials after Newport conceded a last-gasp goal to lose 1-0 at Stockport in Sky Bet League Two.
Paddy Madden put his earlier penalty miss behind him with a dramatic stoppage-time winner, finally finding a way past goalkeeper Nick Townsend – who did brilliantly to palm his 73rd-minute spot-kick away.
But while Stockport had been utterly dominant, it was the performance of Tom Reeves in the middle that enraged the Exiles boss, particularly the awarding of a free-kick award that led to Madden’s late strike.
“Stockport were obviously the better team, we expected that because they’re up at that end of the table for a reason,” boss Coughlan said.
“The pressure was relentless but our lads stood tall. We didn’t have a particularly good game with the ball but defensively we were organised and structured.
“Nick Townsend was outstanding but the good teams get decisions and the breaks of the ball.
“On the whole Stockport probably deserved to win the game, let’s have that right, but under the circumstances we deserved to come away with a clean sheet, given the defensive structure, the organisation and the commitment that the lads showed.
“I can’t get away from the standard of the officiating though, it’s week in, week out. It’s absolute nonsense and it’s very hard to accept.
“I have to laugh, to be quite honest, because I’m all for battling and for fighting but, please, if you’re going to go and manage the game like that throughout don’t give them a foul like that right at the end when the rules have gone out of the window.
“We don’t get treated fairly and that’s the hard part. We need someone to look at the decisions and make a call. It’s not just today, it’s gone on all season and it’s become a bit of a pantomime.”
Stockport boss Dave Challinor admitted he felt victory was slipping away before Madden’s instinctive strike gave the Hatters their first win in five games, keeping them second.
“You never write it off because you know what football’s like, it changes in a moment,” he said.
“You always have that little bit of hope but the longer it goes on the smaller that hope gets.
“It can be one deflection, something dropping for you in the box to get an opportunity, so to win is great.
“Would I like to have won in a better manner? Absolutely, but the most important thing is three points and we’ve got that.
“The keeper was saving everything. I would have liked to have worked him more with what we had, we were sloppy in possession and gave the ball away far too much for a team of our ability.
“Playing on a bowling green of a pitch, we turned the ball over far too often, especially in the first half and that didn’t allow us to maintain or sustain attacks.
“Did we do enough with the possession we had? No, I think we need to do more, that always helps if you score early.
“We had chances but the keeper made some decent saves, you’ll always question if it’ll be one of those days when you miss a penalty but thankfully today that wasn’t the case.”
Al-Ahli 1-2 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic double keeps Saudi champions perfect
Aleksandar Mitrovic proved to be the difference once again for Al-Hilal as the reigning Saudi Pro League champions beat Al-Ahli 2-1 on Saturday.
Al-Ahil went in front with 12 minutes played when Gabri Veiga was sent through on goal by Franck Kessie, with the Spaniard rounding Yassine Bounou to open the scoring at King Abdullah Sports City.
The hosts went close to doubling their advantage soon after, with Riyad Mahrez and Ivan Toney going close, before Sergej Milinkovic-Savic saw his effort cleared off the line at the other end.
But parity was restored early in the second half through Al-Hilal's master marksman, as Mitrovic nodded home a trademark header from Renan Lodi's delivery.
Al-Ahil were then awarded a penalty when Rayan Hamed fouled Malcom inside the box, only for Mitrovic to see his effort saved by Abdulrahman Al Sanbi.
However, the Serbian was given the chance to redeem himself after the VAR deemed encroachment had taken place, and he made no mistake at the second time of asking to net his 14th goal of the season in all competitions.
Data Debrief: Mitrovic the main man
Mitrovic has been in fine form since his move to Saudi Arabia, with his latest double taking his tally to 54 goals in as many appearances for Al-Hilal.
This time out, he contributed 1.16 expected goals (xG) tally to the visitors' 2.24 total, while also recording the most touches in the opposition box (six).
Malcom also impressed for Al-Hilal, creating more chances (three) than anyone on the pitch, with his 14 passes into the final third a total only bettered by Ruben Neves (18) and Salem Al Dawsari (15) among his team-mates.
Al-Nassr 3-0 Al-Orubah: Mane double helps hosts close in on leaders
Sadio Mane scored a goal in either half, helping Al-Nassr cruise to a 3-0 win over Al-Orubah and close in on the top two in the Saudi Pro League.
Cristiano Ronaldo had given the hosts the lead from the spot, setting them on their way to a dominant victory.
After a slow start, Jean Seri was penalised for a handball, and Ronaldo made no mistake from the spot. After a stuttering run-up, he coolly slotted his strike into the bottom-left corner.
Mane got his first on the stroke of half-time, latching onto Ronaldo's pull-back before firing his low shot into the far side of the net.
He could have had a hat-trick, having also hit the woodwork and squandered a first-time shot by slicing it wide, but he did get his second in the 71st minute, guiding Nawaf Bu Washi's cross past Gaetan Coucke.
Cristian Tello came closest to a consolation for the visitors, smashing a long-range effort off the crossbar.
Data Debrief: Mane's time to shine
Mane, so far this season, has been providing the spark as a playmaker after registering five assists in Al-Nassr's first five games in the Saudi Pro League.
Today, however, he regained his scoring touch, getting his first two goals of the campaign.
He had the most shots (five), and shots on target (three), as he accumulated 0.97 expected goals (xG), while his seven touches in the box was the most of any player on the field.
Napoli 3-1 Como: Lukaku and McTominay on target to extend hosts' Serie A lead
Romelu Lukaku continued his fine start to life at Napoli as the Belgian notched a goal and two assists in his side's 3-1 win over Como on Friday.
The hosts found themselves ahead with just 26 seconds on the clock when Scott McTominay was picked out by Lukaku, with the Scotland international firing home his first goal for Gli Azzurri off the post.
But Como would draw themselves level two minutes before the break when Gabriel Strefezza's strike from distance rifled into the bottom corner.
However, Antonio Conte's side needed just eight minutes after the interval to restore their advantage when Sergi Roberto brought down Mathias Olivera in the box, with Lukaku stepping up from 12 yards to net his fourth Serie A goal of the season.
Napoli continued to push for a third goal to secure the victory, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia going closest but saw his effort saved by Emil Audero.
But the points were sealed in the 86th minute when Lukaku turned provider once again, holding off his marker before slipping through substitute David Neres who slotted home with a fine finish to extend Napoli's lead at the top of the standings to four points.
Data Debrief: Lukaku continues Conte love story
Lukaku has been a player reborn under Conte's stewardship. The Belgian is the player who has been involved in the most goals in his first five appearances for Napoli in Serie A since the Italian top-flight returned to 20 teams (since 2004/05) with three goals and four assists.
He has also managed to better his assist tally for the whole of last season, managing just three in 32 appearances for Roma last term.
McTominay's goal after 26 seconds is the third-fastest scored by Napoli since the start of a Serie A match in the three points for a win era, after Hirving Lozano's goal against Hellas Verona in 2021 (nine seconds) and Ezequiel Lavezzi's goal against Genoa in 2008 (25 seconds).
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