Telford denied winning return to Newport as Crawley let lead slip late on

Newport fought back from 2-0 down to claim a 2-2 draw with Crawley as a stunning late rally denied Dom Telford the perfect return to Rodney Parade.

Telford, who scored 26 goals for the Welsh side last season, looked to have come back to haunt the Exiles with a goal in each half.

He showed his poacher’s instincts to put the visitors ahead nine minutes before the interval as he tapped in from Ludwig Francillette’s shot after County had failed to clear a corner.

Goalkeeper Joe Day twice denied Tom Fellows in the closing stages of the first half.

And, when Scot Bennett tripped Nick Tsaroulla in the box on 67 minutes, Telford made no mistake from the spot to seemingly put the game to bed.

But substitute Matty Dolan gave the Exiles hope with a bullet header from Cameron Norman’s cross seven minutes from time.

And, in a pulsating climax to the contest, fellow sub Offrande Zanzala earned County an unlikely point as he headed home in stoppage time.