Johnnie Jackson felt our side deserved a lot more from today’s 1-1 draw with Newport County, after the match was turned on its head.
After initially taking the lead through Ethan Chislett’s stunning free-kick, the Dons were pegged back as two incidents overshadowed the game as a whole.
First Kyle Hudlin was shown a straight red card for an apparent headbutt, before the Exiles were then awarded a penalty only a few minutes later, leaving Johnnie disappointed.
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“I heard the linesman say that Kyle had headbutted their player,” he said. “I certainly didn’t see that from my perspective. It was a coming together and they were both in each other’s faces – I’ll need to watch it back before we decide where to go with it. It looked harsh, but that’s me talking on memory and emotion.
“The second incident of that crazy period is the one that’s really tough to take. I’ve watched the penalty back – I knew it at the time – I think it’s a ridiculous decision from the referee. Especially after it looked like we had a stonewall decision turned down at the other end after he pulled it back for a free-kick. I’m not sure how it was an advantage.”
Despite losing a man and suffering the setback of conceding an equaliser, our side rallied and came away with a hard-fought point against the odds.
It was these fighting qualities that understandably pleased the gaffer as we extended our unbeaten run in Sky Bet League Two to nine games.
“It was a scrappy game to be honest. There were a lot of interruptions in play, it didn’t really have a chance to flow. We got the magic we needed from Chis and from then on I thought we were in the ascendancy. I’m frustrated that it didn’t turn out to be the winner.
“I want to be here talking about my team and how they played for the win but instead we’re talking about a hard-earned point because we’ve had to play 20 minutes with 10 men and they got a penalty that they shouldn’t have had.
“It’s conflicting emotions as I’m really proud of how the boys stuck together – maybe earlier in the season we would’ve lost that. We saw it through and got a point. Everyone had their legs and energy back and we’re going to need that in this winter period.”
Lastly, Johnnie provided an update on the fitness of Paris Maghoma, with the midfielder having missed our last two games.
“Paris picked up an ankle injury in training in the build-up to the game against Stevenage which got postponed. He’s going to be out for a while. It’s a big blow for us as he’s been part of the success that we’ve had recently.”
PICS: Ian Stephen (Pro Sports Images)