Newport County 2-2 Tranmere Rovers

Shaquille Gwengwe owned both ends of the afternoon. On 11 minutes his looping header from a tight angle went in off the bar to put Newport County ahead, and with the clock on 90 he arrived again to hook in the equaliser. The club's account managed HIM AGAINNNNN, which covers it.

A week ago County scored after 15 seconds at Bristol Rovers and lost 5-3, so an afternoon of control was the point to prove, and for an hour Hayden Mullins got it. Jordan Wright turned Will Vaulks's drive behind on 34, Dan Sassi lifted the start of the second half, and Rodney Parade settled in for a routine win over the division's early pace-setters.

Then Tranmere Rovers turned it around in four minutes. Joel Senior's cross found Zane Okoro for a near-post finish on 71, and the substitute Dylan Jones poked in a loose ball at the far post on 75. The collapse that swallowed County at the Memorial Stadium was threatening a sequel until Gwengwe's 90th-minute answer rescued the point the hour had earned.

Tranmere leave still unbeaten. County sit on four points from three, with the deadline-day trip to Salford on Tuesday, and in Gwengwe a forward who has now scored three of County's eight league goals. The club report put the crowd at 4,606, of whom 458 came from Birkenhead, and Emily Heaslip booked two County players, Christian Doidge on 43 and Matt Dibley-Dias on 84.

What Mullins said

"Never gave up. I think the one thing I see in this team is real character, real grit and a real desire to fight for the badge," Hayden Mullins said afterwards, before naming the hour that got away: "There was a little bit of complacency from us and we let them back in the game, but again, the character to come back was first class." On the forward who scored both: "Shaq's done really well. I think he's getting the rewards from his hard work." Mullins put County's return at "eight goals in three games", and said the job now is "turning the dial down the other side and keeping it shut". He reported knocks to assess before Tuesday, naming Doidge and Yahya Bamba, with Tom Davies already missing at left-back.

By the numbers the point was well earned: Tranmere had 59 per cent of possession and outshot County 15 to 11, while Shaquille Gwengwe's two goals made him the highest-rated player on the pitch at 7.6.