Things went from bad to worse for Doncaster Rovers as off-field pressures led to on-field problems.
Newport County came back from a goal behind to win a comfortable 3-1 over Doncaster at Keepmoat Stadium.
Kyle Hurst opened the scoring in the first half with a deflected 25-yard shot in the 12th minute.
After the break the visitors dominated with three goals in 15 minutes, starting with Priestley Farquharson’s 64th minute header from a Mickey Demetriou long throw.
Seven minutes later, a quick break sent Omar Bogle racing down the left flank, cutting back to Aaron Wildig who converted from just outside the box.
Another Demetriou long throw was headed in by Cameron Norman in the 79th minute, putting the game out of Doncaster’s reach.
Speaking after the game, Hurst said: “It was a tough one to take for the team. I felt like we were on top and then two long throw-ins, set plays, and it changed the game.
“I don’t think we went under – we kept trying hard to do what we do but it’s very disappointing for us.”
The loss is Doncaster’s seventh in nine games. Recent form and fan frustration led to owner Terry Bramall announcing a “significant financial injection” into first team resources for next season earlier this month.
Hurst said there needs to be a reset over the summer, but the results in the next two games will help their momentum next season.
“We’re not where we want to be,” he said. “We won’t go down but obviously we won’t go up. If we can get wins in these next two games then that’ll take us into next season with good momentum.”
