Cheltenham Town manager Michael Duff said that Newport County goalkeeper Tom King scoring from a goal-kick was a “freak incident” in the 1-1 draw between the two sides at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium.
Exiles goalkeeper King scored from his own penalty area after just 12 minutes, when his powerful goal-kick took a wicked bounce which caught out Cheltenham shot-stopper Josh Griffiths and looped into the net.
Alife May and Finn Azaz had chances to equalise, but it was wing-back Matty Blair who brought the scores level, planting an effort past King five minutes into first-half stoppage-time.
Newport brought on ex-Cirencester Town striker Owen Windsor in the second-half, but neither side created too many clear-cut chances, as King’s freak goal earned County a point on the road.
Duff said: “He (King) has boomed it, it’s skipped off the surface and gone in just under the bar. There is not a lot I can do about that, it’s a freak incident. We have defended really well and conceded a freak goal, but ultimately we’ve had enough chances to win the game.
“I thought we dominated the opposition, particularly in the first half. I sound like a bit of a broken record at the minute, but we’ve had enough chances to win the game. It sums up where we’re at with them scoring from their only shot, and it wasn’t even a shot on target, it was a goal kick on target and that’s the only thing they’ve created all game. It’s definitely two points dropped, but I’d take the performance and if we keep playing like that, results will change. “
The Robins now take a break from League Two action, with a televised FA Cup fourth round tie with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City took look forward to on Saturday evening.
With Cheltenham out of form in the league with no wins in their last seven, Duff is looking forward to being the underdog against one of Europe’s heavyweight clubs.
“Obviously we have a free hit (against Man City) at the weekend, which might be a good thing for us, just to clear our heads and come away from the league in terms of the focus and we go on.
“I am sure the next few days will be a bit of a circus, but the lads deserve the kudos or 15 minutes of fame after two years of hard work which has gone into this.
“They might leave out Phil Foden and bring in Mahrez. They might leave out Jesus and bring in Aguero. I’d imagine there will be 10 or 11 internationals on the pitch. The squad they have, you find a weakness. It could be Laporte instead of Stones. Whoever they play it’ll be fantastic and a brilliant weekend for the club in terms of finances, profile and it’s just a shame the fans won’t be here because they’d be queuing around the block.”
