Newport County manager Michael Flynn admits Harrogate Town did the 'horrible side of the game a lot better than us'

The Sulphurites came from behind to beat their promotion-chasing visitors 2-1 on Saturday afternoon thanks to goals from Josh March and Aaron Martin.

Following a fairly even opening 45, the home team went on to dominate the second period and would eventually emerge as worthy winners, with Exiles chief Flynn left to lament the fact that Town "did the horrible side of the game a lot better" than his own charges.

He said: "I thought we started quite well, but then mistakes started creeping in and we got punished for one and were then very poor.

"They did the horrible side of the game a lot better than us and we didn't create anything of note until the one [chance] cleared off the line on 89 minutes.

"We got bullied. We got caught not matching their aggression and dealing with their physical threat and that's disappointing because it's not what you want to see from the sidelines."

The playing surface at Harrogate's Wetherby Road home once again cut up quite badly over the course of Saturday's League Two clash, but this did not prevent the home side from playing some incisive attacking football on the deck.

And, Flynn refused to blame the Town pitch for his own team's failure to perform.

"It was a lot better than our pitch, so I'm not having a go at the Harrogate pitch, but it was a lot more bobbly than it may have looked and it does give way," he added.

"But, these are not excuses. When you walk on that pitch for the warm-up you should know how it's going to be. It's not like I'm asking them [Newport's players] to paint a Picasso.

"Know what you're supposed to know, which is how the pitch will be."

Victory for Harrogate moves them nine points clear of the League Two relegation zone ahead of next weekend's trip to Crawley.