Stuart Maynard praised a superb collective effort from his Notts County players as he earned a first win as manager with a 3-1 victory at in-form Newport.
Two headers from Macaulay Langstaff and a tap-in for David McGoldrick secured the points before the hour mark, while Will Evans’s 90th-minute penalty was nothing but a consolation for the hosts.
“It’s good to get the first three points on the road and I thought it was an excellent away performance,” said Maynard, whose side climbed back up to seventh in League Two.
“For the fans to come down to Newport on a wet Tuesday night and get behind the lads for 90 minutes – they deserve that.
“And for the staff as well behind the scenes who have worked so hard with the change of management team – huge praise has got to go to them as well.
“This is our third week in charge now, we’ve not been with them long, but the lads are taking it all on board.
“I’m just gutted that we didn’t get the clean sheet that we deserved. I think it’s the softest penalty you’ll see all season. It was frustrating, but we managed the game really well.”
Jodi Jones created both Langstaff goals – the opener on 22 minutes and the third in the 59th.
And Langstaff turned provider in between for McGoldrick to double the Magpies’ lead 10 minutes before the break.
“We know what we’ve got going forward, but the defensive performance was immense tonight as well,” added Maynard.
“They’ve all put a shift in, and that’s what it takes to win games consistently at this level – we’ve shown both sides of the game.”
The home side saw a seven-match unbeaten run ended in convincing style to drop to 14th and Graham Coughlan admitted his side got what they deserved.
“We got beaten by the better team,” said the Irishman. “When you win you take the plaudits and when you get beaten you have to take a bit of stick.
“We made elementary mistakes and basic errors, we just weren’t at it. Too many of our players didn’t turn up, too many had an off night, and we were sloppy.
“On the occasions we got into really good positions in the first half we didn’t pick out a final ball. We weren’t clinical.
“I stuck with a group of boys who were in great form, so if anybody wants to have a go then point the finger at me and nobody else. I should have maybe changed a few things around, but I am stubborn.
“I don’t think that was a true reflection of us, and that is down to me and nobody else.”