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TUESDAY 13th
MAY SPENCER YOUTH WIN THE “COUNTY” CHARITY CUP FINAL
A fast and exciting
match was fought out between Spencer Youth and Pontnewydd United at
Newport YMCA with Spencer looking to have taken total control with
two first half goals from Carl Baugh and Lee Stewart.
However,
Pontnewydd’s Alan Wannell struck immediately after the interval
and, although Mike Aviss restored Spencer’s two-goal advantage, a
Dean Mayo penalty put Pontnewydd back in the game. The final twenty
minutes were keenly contested but Spencer held on for a win that not
only saw them win the cup and a cheque for £100, but also clinch a
match against Newport County at Newport Stadium.
It was Spencer
celebrations all round with their skipper Scott Evans being named
man-of-the-match. The trophy and prize is kindly donated by the
South Wales Argus with all proceeds from both the final and the
Newport County match going to the Mayor of Newport’s nominated
charity, the Noah’s Ark Appeal |
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SATURDAY 10th MAY
SIGNIFICANT
STEPS TOWARDS NEW SOCIAL CLUB …..
An open meeting of 200 Club members and supporters of Newport County
AFC will be held on Tuesday 27th May at the Baneswell Social Club, Newport
beginning at 7.30 p.m.
At this meeting
the 200 Club Committee will unveil the detailed proposals for the
new clubhouse. The Committee is delighted to announce that the
clubhouse is planned for opening in the mid season and before
Christmas 2003. The clubhouse is a much-needed social facility for
supporters and an important part of the commercial plans for Newport
County AFC. Members of the 200 Club are urged to make every effort
to attend this coming meeting as they will be consulted on the
detailed proposals for the design and operation of the clubhouse and
asked to endorse the proposals.
The open meeting
will be followed by the Inaugural General Meeting of the Newport
County AFC Social Club. This meeting is restricted to members who
have paid in full their life membership of the 200 Club. The members
of the 200 Club Committee, who have steered the project to date,
were invited to submit their nominations for election as directors
of the Company. Members of the Society were notified of the meetings
by post and any member of the Society that wished to submit a
nomination for election made written application to the Secretary
via Newport County AFC by 21st April.
A complimentary
buffet will be served on the evening. |
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AND THE “COUNTY” CHARITY CUP HAS ITS FINAL ON TUESDAY
This competition is
run by the Newport County AFC 200 Club in conjunction with the Mayor
of Newport, Councillor Bob Poole, and the South Wales Argus. In
its’ second season, the semi finals have now been played and saw
the exit of the holders, Pill AFC. They went down 3-0 to Spencer
Youth who scored through Paul Blandford, Matthew Payne and Gary
Williams.
The other
semi-final, between Three Horseshoes and Pontnewydd United was much
more closely contested and saw Pontnewydd reach the final with an
extra time goal from Chris Evans.
Pontnewydd and
Spencer therefore meet in the Final, which will take place at the
Newport YMCA Ground in Mendalgief Road this Tuesday 13th
May kick off 6.45pm. The winners will play Newport County AFC at
Newport Stadium with all proceeds going to the Mayor’s Charity,
the Noah’s Ark Appeal for the Children’s Hospital for Wales.
They will also receive the “County” Charity Cup and a £100
cheque donated by the South Wales Argus. The Runners-up receive a
cheque for £50. |
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THURSDAY 8th
MAY
FAW PREMIER CUP
FINAL GOES TO WREXHAM –
THREE
OF OUR PLAYERS ARE SELECTED FOR WALES –
PRESENTATION
EVENING TICKETS ON SALE
WREXHAM 6 NEWPORT COUNTY 1 We reaped the whirlwind of having to play a team at the very top of its form. Over the last three months, Wrexham have put together a tremendous string |
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of wins, clinched promotion and will play three divisions higher
than us next season. Wrexham also have a tremendous record in the FAW Premier Cup and they again made no compromises in team
selection.
They had the
enviable boost of a goal in the second minute of the match, a Dennis
Lawrence header from a corner not quite able to be cleared off the
line by either Steve Benton or Andrew Thomas. By the 21st
minute, the scoreline was 3-0 courtesy of a superb solo run and chip
by Andy Morrell and a Jim Whitley goal manufactured by high speed
and brilliant off the ball running.
Lee Trundle made it four just before the break and, though we saw
the second half a little closer, we could have done with Neil Davis’
56th
minute shot finding the target rather than going high. Shaun Pejic
and Trundle, the latter a strike oozing total confidence, completed
the home scoring but we had our highlight when Garry Shephard
eluding his tight markers to execute a skilful volley over Wrexham
‘keeper Paul Whitfield.
The crowd at the
Racecourse included Wales manager Mark Hughes, former Shrewsbury
boss Kevin Ratclifffe as well as top FAW officials led by
Secretary-General David Collins.
Line-Up: G. Wesson,
C. Collins, S. Benton (M. Dickeson 53), A. Thomas, J. Perry, J.
Eckhardt, M. Rose, M. Fowler (A. Stevenson 77), N. Davis (C. Rogers
70), G. Shephard, N. Davies. Subs L. Stone, R. Plant. Att: 4014. |
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NON-LEAGUE TRIO
SELECTED
The club is still
celebrating, however, because three of our players, defender Andrew
Thomas, midfielder Nathan Davies and striker Garry Shephard, have
all been named in the Wales semi-professional international squad
that defends their home international trophy.
They play Scotland
at Carmarthen on Tuesday 20th May (7.30), England at
Merthyr on Thursday 22nd May (7.30) and complete the
tournament by playing the Republic of Ireland at Haverfordwest on
Saturday 24th May (3.30) |
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PRESENTATION
EVENING
The evening at
Newport Centre’s Riverside Suite on Friday 23rd May
promises to be a very good one, indeed. Live entertainment, a buffet
and three comperes guide your way to the announcement of the Club
awards for 2002-2003. Tickets,
just £10, are on sale at the Club Office between 10am and 4pm
Monday to Friday, The Kop Shop in Maindee and Sportsmad in Newport
Market and are also available through the Supporters Club and Amber
Army. |
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Needless to say,
club officials, players and team management will all be there as we
bring down the curtain on the season and look forward to the
2003-2004 campaign. |
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SUNDAY 4th
MAY
FAW PREMIER CUP FINAL V. WREXHAM
- MATCH ARRANGEMENTS
To avoid any
confusion caused by local reporting, ALL admission to the
Racecourse on Thursday night is PAY AT THE TURNSTILES. No
tickets have been printed for the game. We have been allocated up to
3,000 seats in the Eric Roberts Stand behind the goal. Adult seats
are £10 and concessions £5.
The FAW Premier
Cup Final T Shirt sold well
on Saturday and they are available from the Club Office on Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday from 10am-4pm. They are also obtainable from The
Kop Shop in Maindee and Sportsmad in Newport Market. |
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SATURDAY 3rd
MAY NEWPORT COUNTY 2 CHELMSFORD CITY 5
Surely the youngest ever side that we have fielded and the scoreline should not mask a very good display by a squad that included THIRTEEN of our Academy squad. The team selection saw three players make senior debuts, three more make league debuts and another got a first start in a league |
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match.
Having gone behind,
the far older Chelmsford side came back into it and their
experienced approach told with, particularly, two penalties that
helped them build a 3-1 interval lead. The first of them came on 24
minutes when Shaun O’Brien fouled Garry Cross and we had the sight
of an opposing goalkeeper, Paul Nicholls, making the score sheet
with a spot kick that Ryan Idzi came very close to reaching.
The second one, a
minute before half time, sent Ryan the wrong way and this penalty
award was hotly disputed. Ryan Idzi came out at the feet of Tony
Samuels and any contact seemed to be instigated by the Chelmsford
man but a penalty was the verdict. In between, Keith Sharman had put
Chelmsford in front.
We looked to have
reduced the half time deficit on 47 minutes when Chris Rogers struck
a post but John Phillips’ instinctive first time cross was headed
home by an offside Mark Dickeson. The breakthrough did come on 64
minutes with Allan Stevenson finishing off a scramble after a Gethin
Jones corner.
Just when we
thought a comeback was on the cards, Chelmsford struck twice in two
minutes to seal the points. Samuels got a final touch to a Sharman
shot and Garry Cross then applied the coup de grace with a powerful
low shot from all of 30 yards.
Chris Rogers led
the way with some very good work in the last twenty minutes but
goalkeeper and double scorer Nicholls showed he could also operate
effectively at his more accustomed end of the pitch.
Line-Up: R. Idzi,
J. Dupres, L. Jones, S. O’Brien, A. Thomas, A. Stevenson, R.
French (R. Plant 58), G. Jones, M. Dickeson (S. O’Sullivan 76), J.
Phillips (J. Fox 66), C. Rogers. Subs: L. Stone, A. Delve.. Att:
890. |
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SATURDAY 26th
APRIL TAMWORTH 0 NEWPORT COUNTY AFC 0
We are now unbeaten
in five games and, against a background of a constant re-jigging of
the team to give everyone a late season outing, this latest result
was the best of the quintet. Tamworth may also have been preoccupied with deciding which of their team |
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was going to
risk a hernia by carrying one of the biggest, and most impressive
football trophies around, but there was no doubt that we applied
ourselves well to the game and could, with some steadiness in front
of goal, have really spoilt the party.
Twice in the first
five minutes we went close with both Garry Shephard and Mark
Dickeson each firing over with “Shep” repeating the scenario
just before half time. At the other end, Gareth Wesson saved well
from Nic Colley in the first half and, straight after the restart,
Jeff Eckhardt blocked two good efforts from England non-league
international Scott Rickards.
The best chances,
again one at each end, came within two second half minutes. Jeff
Eckhardt muffed a back pass to let in Matt Fisher but his shot went
wide. “Shep” then got beyond both defence and goalkeeper but
completely mis-hit his shot that trickled wide of a very inviting
target.
Tamworth had a
couple of late chances but they were all off-target on a pitch that
didn’t do justice to a championship-winning team. Line-Up: G. Wesson, C. Collins, S. Benton, L. Stone, J. Eckhardt, N. Davies, M. Rose, M. Fowler (K. Dimond 58), M. Dickeson, G. Shephard (N. Davis 63), R. Plant (J. Fox 76). Subs J. Dupres, A. Stevenson. Att: 1396. |
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LATE GOAL
DENIES US AN EASTER “DOUBLE”
Jason
Ashby’s somewhat controversial goal two minutes from time brought
an abrupt end to hopes of a maximum six point haul from our Easter
matches – but let’s start with Saturday:- |
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SATURDAY 19th
APRIL
MOOR GREEN 1 NEWPORT COUNTY 2
Despite some press reports that suggested otherwise, Lloyd Stone’s first appearance in a Dr. Martens League starting line up was a success – and would have continued into the second half but for a groin strain that also kept him out of |
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the Halesowen match.
Both sides had
chances in the first half at the Moorlands with Matt Rose bringing a
top quality save from Adam Rachel after just six minutes, Kristian
Dimond wasting a good chance from a goalkeeping error on 28 minutes
and Moor Green twice testing Gareth Wesson after the half hour mark.
The toast of the
County fans was Nathan Davies who, having scored only three goals in
over 130 appearances up to Saturday, then almost doubled his career
total in forty five minutes!
His two strikes
were just six minute apart, the first a left foot shot after a good
four man move and then the same boot, meeting a Kristian Dimond
corner, was aided by a deflection as it established a 2-0 lead.
Moor Green had the
better of the later stages but Gareth Wesson was again on top form
although he was powerless to deal with Jae Martin’s near post
header from a corner with twelve minutes remaining.
Line-Up: G. Wesson,
C. Collins, S. Benton, B. Clark, J. Perry, L. Stone (N. Davies 46),
M. Rose, K. Dimond, R. Plant (J. Fox 82), G. Shephard (N. Davis 46),
M. Fowler. Subs J. Dupres, A. Stevenson. Att:
254. |
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MONDAY 21st
APRIL NEWPORT COUNTY 1 HALESOWEN TOWN 1
Despite grabbing an
early lead, a late equaliser spoilt an afternoon that saw us lose
two players through injury in the first 25 minutes but did see the
return to action of Mark Dickeson. Billy Clark was the toast of the Stadium with a superbly met 19th minute header from a Kristian Dimond corner to put us ahead. |
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The corner had been awarded after a scrambled Halesowen clearance
followed Kristian
hitting the underside of the crossbar with a free kick.
Halesowen had been
frustrated when regular ‘keeper Tim Clarke failed to show up in
South Wales, apparently going to Newport in Shropshire by mistake!
At least his understudy, Gary Hateley, had his wits about him and
denied Steve Benton, who went close with two first half efforts.
Matt Rose looked
certain to make it 2-0 on the hour but a tremendous tackle by Lee
Williams saved the Yeltz who, from that point on, looked gradually
more dangerous. They could have taken all three points because, in
addition to Jason Ashby’s equaliser, Michael Blackwood twice
brought saves from Gareth Wesson.
The leveller caused
a fair bit of debate with Ashby and another Halesowen forward both
looking offside as a shot came in from the other side of the area
and was parried by Gareth Wesson.
There was a special
“welcome back” from supporters for Mark Dickeson who played the
last twelve minutes after replacing Raith Plant. It was Mark’s
first game since his cruciate ligament injury back in September. Line-Up: G. Wesson, C. Collins, S. Benton, B. Clark, J.Perry (J. Dupres 20), M. Fowler, M. Rose, K. Dimond, R. Plant (M. Dickeson 78), G. Shephard (N. Davis 24), N. Davies. Subs A. Stevenson, J. Fox. Att: 604. |
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SATURDAY 12th APRIL
NEWPORT COUNTY 3 CRAWLEY TOWN 3
Best described as
“a great game for spectators, not so good for managers”, we at
least had six goals to reflect on, even if two of those were gifted
to our opponents, but we came back strongly to earn the point. |
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The best goal of
all was the 21st minute strike that put us ahead.
Significantly, the average age of those involved in that move was
just nineteen!
Teenager John
Phillips pursued a through ball, looked to be in with a chance of
scoring but the Crawley defence cleared – but only as far as Chris
Collins. His excellent cross was met with a stunning volley from
Kristian Dimond and, for a while, things looked promising.
However a mistake
by Chris Collins and a loss of footing from Mike Fowler let in Danny
Hockton to fire past Gareth Wesson and we then conceded twice in ten
second half minutes to, seemingly, put the game beyond us.
Nic McDonell put
Crawley ahead from a ball straight through the middle and another
cardinal error, this time by Kristian Dimond, placed the ball at Mo
Harkin’s feet and, despite their being some profligate Crawley
finishing during the game, he made no mistake with that one.
A new name was
added to our all-time scorer’s list when James Fox made it 3-2,
finishing off a move started by Jeff Eckhardt and carried on by Neil
Davis. Neil was to score the goal that brought us back level when a
pass through the middle saw him lift the ball over goalkeeper Andy
Little and then see it hit the far post and go in, despite the
desperate efforts of a defender to clear.
Before the match, a
minute’s silence was held in memory of Cwmbran manager Tony Willcox, who passed away on Friday morning. One of football’s
genuine gentlemen, he will be sorely missed and everyone at Newport
County AFC extends their deepest sympathy to his family.
Line-Up: G. Wesson,
R. French (R. Plant 65), C. Collins, B. Clark, M. Fowler, J.
Eckhardt, M. Rose, K. Dimond, J. Phillips (J. Fox 57), G. Shephard(N.
Davis 46), N. Davies. Subs L. Stone, A. Stevenson. Att: 583. |
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SATURDAY 5th APRIL
NEWPORT COUNTY 1 STAFFORD
RANGERS 0
Back to winning
ways! After the disappointment of two 1-0 away defeats we deservedly
got back on the “straight and narrow” against a side in Stafford
who, though – like everyone else -out of the Tamworth-won
promotion race, lived up to their third place billing. Three chances came our way in the first half, goalkeeper Ryan Price dealing with one from Jeff Eckhardt and efforts from Richard French and Matt Rose being off target. |
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The main action started as soon as the game
commenced its second half with Stafford’s Robin Gibson hitting a
post, team mate Wayne Daniel heading against the angle and Garry Shephard forcing a fine save from Price.
The match winner
came on 64 minutes when a Steve Benton cross was met by a Matt Rose
header that looped into the net. There were late threats from
Stafford substitute Danny Davidson and ‘keeper Price who spent
most of the last ten minutes in our half !
It was a costly
game for us with Jason Perry being injured just twenty minutes in
and both Steve Benton and Andrew Thomas sustaining foot injuries.
“Benno” was carried off and Andrew is having a precautionary
x-ray after the pair collided in going for the same ball late in the
game which eventually ran to over nine minutes of stoppage time. Line-Up: G. Wesson, R. French (C. Collins 57), S. Benton, A. Thomas, J. Perry (B. Clark 20), J. Eckhardt, M. Rose, M. Fowler (K. Dimond 72), N. Davis, G. Shephard, N. Davies. Subs R. Plant, A. Stevenson. Att: 548. |
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TUESDAY 1st APRIL ILKESTON TOWN 1 NEWPORT COUNTY 0This was a hugely ineffective performance against the Premier Division’s bottom club who grabbed the only goal fifteen minutes from time through Aaron O’Connor. O’Connor blasted home from ten yards after exposing a fair bit of |
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space in our back line, this coming shortly after a fine
Gareth Wesson save and a Steve Benton goal line clearance denied the
home side.
That action
followed a first half that took a full half hour to produce anything
noteworthy. An inadvertent header back from Jeff Eckhardt saw
Richard French head off our line whilst, at the other end, an attack
without Garry Shephard failed to make an impression with Mike Fowler
off target and Kristian Dimond attempting a chip that went safely
into goalkeeper Andy Love’s hands.
Neil Davis did
force Love to save at his feet on 35 minutes but the best chance of
the game for us came late on, Richard French lifting the ball over
the home crossbar with an inviting target beckoning. Line-Up: G. Wesson, R. French, S. Benton A. Thomas 81), B. Clark, J. Perry, J. Eckhardt, M. Rose (A. Stevenson 87), M. Fowler, N. Davis, K. Dimond (J. Fox 78), N. Davies. Subs J. Phillips, C. Collins. Att: 312. |
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SUNDAY 30th MARCH WELLING UNITED 1 NEWPORT COUNTY 0
It’s now one
victory in six meeting with “The Wings” as the Kent side
completed a double over us this season, our performance falling away
in the second half. |
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The first 45
minutes had seen, early on, Neil Davis test ‘keeper Glen Knight
and Andrew Thomas have a goal bound header blocked by a defender.
Two free kicks then threatened the home side, Kristian Dimond
shooting just past the angle and a Mike Fowler effort, initially
blocked, ending with Knight saving at Steve Benton’s feet.
Late in the half,
Garry Shephard curled a shot wide, a Russell Edwards tackle denied
Matt Rose and Steve Benton volleyed over. For Welling, Gary Abbott
had been a threat and no more so than when he brought a tremendous
diving save from Gareth Wesson midway through the first period.
Andrew Thomas and
Matt Rose went close early in the second half but a Kevin Seabury
free kick, harshly given for a Jeff Eckhardt challenge, was headed,
unchallenged, across goal by Abbott and Paul Booth’s downward
header at the other post eluded Gareth Wesson.
Our only chances
from then on both fell to Neil Davis, Knight saving a shot and a
last minute glancing header going wide. Amongst the substitutions we
made was the introduction of youth team striker John Phillips who
replaced Kristian Dimond for the last 16 minutes. Line-Up: G. Wesson, C. Collins (R. French 62), S. Benton, A. Thomas, M. Fowler, J. Eckhardt (B. Clark 62), M. Rose, K. Dimond (J. Phillips 74), N. Davis, G. Shephard, N. Davies. Subs: A. Stevenson, J. Fox. Att: 559. |
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MONDAY 24th
MARCH
NEWPORT COUNTY 4 CARDIFF CITY 2
(after penalties)
A place in the F A W Premier Cup final was the reward after a marvellous night at Newport Stadium. A superb finale – a sequence of disciplined and accurate penalties -
followed an excellent, and very impressive, team performance over
120 |
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minutes.
We were in no way
overawed by our Nationwide League opposition and, although the first
half produced little goalmouth action, Cardiff goalkeeper Martyn
Margetson did need to make one very good save from Garry Shephard.
There was no doubt
we were the better side after half time – and through extra time.
Margetson somehow denied Nathan Davies and Jeff Eckhardt headed over
but the drama was in the penalty shoot-out.
The quality of our
penalties was a joy to behold with Mike Fowler leading the way,
Garry Shephard making it 2-1 and Matt Rose giving us a two-goal
cushion after Stuart Fleetwood had hit the crossbar for Lenny
Lawrence’s team. James Collins, Newport-born and bred, put Cardiff
back in it at 3-2 but young Richard French, once on the Bluebirds’
books, showed a cool and decisive head to keep the 100% success rate
and make it 4-2.
The final act was
Andy Jordan, son of one-time scourge of Wales Joe Jordan, striking a
post to make an F A W Premier Cup Final appearance a reality for us.
Line-Up: G. Wesson,
C. Collins (R. Plant 79), S. Benton, A. Thomas, J. Perry, J.
Eckhardt, M. Rose, M. Fowler, N. Davis (R. French 98), G. Shephard,
N. Davies. Subs: A. Stevenson, L. Stone, G. Jones. Att: 1160. |
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SATURDAY 22nd MARCH HASTINGS UNITED 1 NEWPORT COUNTY 3
This proved the
ideal build up to Monday’s F A W Premier Cup semi final with
Cardiff City as our second away win in a few days takes us to eighth
place in the Dr. Martens Premier Division. |
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Starting with the
side that finished at Halesowen, (Billy Clark’s thigh strain
ruling him out), the team felt the benefit of an overnight stay on
the long journey to Sussex, taking a 34th minute lead.
Matt Rose, whose deflected shot produced a corner, reaped the
benefit of home ‘keeper Dave King’s far post fumble from
Kristian Dimond’s flag kick to drill the ball home from close
range.
The bright sunshine
caused problems for both goalkeepers but, immediately before our
strike, Gareth Wesson had distinguished himself with a fine stop
from Rob Collins’ shot. Gareth was powerless, however, to prevent
a class goal from Duncan McArthur who followed a twisting run by the
most accurate of shots that he chipped into the top corner on 59
minutes.
Another Wesson save
five minutes later denied a header by full back Nick Hegley during a
sustained good spell by the home team. It was a penalty twelve
minutes from time that put us back in front, King ruled to have
brought down Garry Shephard who then sent him the wrong way from the
spot.
The goal that
clinched the win started from goalkeeper Wesson. He found Shephard
who set up Mike Fowler after our substitute had made a great run.
The shot was wayward but fell to Raith Plant, who finished it off
from three yards out.
Line-Up: G. Wesson,
C. Collins, S. Benton, A. Thomas, J. Perry, J. Eckhardt, M. Rose (M.
Fowler 82), K. Dimond, N. Davis (R. Plant 87), G. Shephard (A.
Stevenson 90), N. Davies. Subs: L. Stone, R. Idzi. Att: 390. |
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TUESDAY 18th MARCH
HALESOWEN TOWN 1 NEWPORT COUNTY
2
It’s been a very
good week so far ! Following our youth team clinching the South West
Counties League title on Monday evening, we turned in both a very
good performance and the right result at the Grove.
Any fears about the
goalkeeping situation were allayed during the ninety minutes with
Gareth Wesson, replacing Pat Mountain, having an excellent game with
several fine saves including one that proved a turning point in the
match. |
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We made by far the
better start to the match with Neil Davis and Steve Benton each
having a couple of chances in the first 25 minutes. Our stand-in
goalkeeper then dived at the feet of Jason Ashby but, after Kristian
Dimond and Neil Davis again went close, Halesowen stole a half time
lead. A long ball out of defence found Ashby in space and he shook
off a challenge and fired low into the far corner.
The equaliser took
all of fifty second half seconds to arrive, a similar move to the
home opener with Garry Shephard applying the finishing touch.
Halesowen then had a threatening spell but Gareth Wesson first
denied both Ashby and a diving Richard Colwell header.
Neil Davis then had
a tremendous shot rebound off the inside of a post before the two
incidents, just a minute apart, that decided the fate of the match.
Gareth Wesson hurled himself to his left to keep out a fierce
Richard Leadbeater shot and then, from a left flank cross, Kristian
Dimond rose at the far post to put us in front and seal a win that
takes us up to ninth place in the Dr. Martens Premier.
Line-Up: G. Wesson, C. Collins, S. Benton, B. Clark (A. Thomas 46),
J. Perry, J. Eckhardt, M. Rose, N. Davies, N. Davis (R. Plant 89),
G. Shephard, K. Dimond. Subs: R. French, A. Stevenson, J. Fox.
Att: 555.
EXTRA SALES PERIOD FOR CARDIFF
TICKETS
In addition to the
usual 10am-4pm Monday to Friday opening hours this week, we will
be selling tickets through to eight o’clock on Friday evening,
the final opportunity to buy tickets for our FAW Premier Cup
semi-final. Over half our allocation had gone by Tuesday morning and we wish to give supporters who find it difficult to get down to the Stadium in the daytime a last chance to be present at such an important game. No tickets will be on sale over the weekend and, similarly, none on the day of the match. |
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SATURDAY 15th MARCH NEWPORT COUNTY 1 CAMBRIDGE CITY 1
Unfortunately, the
main talking point of Saturday’s game was the 20th
minute knee injury sustained by goalkeeper Pat Mountain – the
extent of which is likely to be confirmed over the weekend. |
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Pat fell awkwardly
when taking a right wing corner and, to the great concern of our
supporters, needed to be carried off. Jeff Eckhardt donned the
‘keeper’s jersey and gloves and did an excellent job though not
being able to keep a clean sheet to protect our lead that we
established seven minutes before half time.
In addition to the
concern over Pat’s injury, on a lesser note the disruption to our
defence was very unfortunate since recent games had seen both the
back division and midfield playing well. Our goal, the first in 482
minutes playing time, came from the right foot of Neil Davis who
turned well on an excellent through ball by Mike Fowler.
We also had chances
a few minutes on either side of that goal, Mike Fowler seeing a shot
saved and Cambridge ‘keeper Martin Davies then preventing a second
from Neil Davis.
Cambridge put more
pressure on Jeff and our defence in the second half – they had a
goal disallowed on 61 minutes and, nine minutes later, scored when
Kevin Wilkin headed home a corner.
Our squad for the
game included striker James Fox, signed on Friday – a player who
has been with Swansea, Hereford and, more recently, Moor Green and
Rugby United.
Line-Up: P.
Mountain (A. Thomas 20), C. Collins, S. Benton, B. Clark, J. Perry,
J. Eckhardt, M. Rose, M. Fowler, N. Davis, G. Shephard, K. Dimond.
Subs: R. French, R. Plant, A. Stevenson, J. Fox. Att: 548.
YOUTH TEAM IN POSSIBLE TITLE-WINNING
ACTION ON MONDAY
Our successful
youth team, who won 2-1 away to Forest Green Rovers on Saturday,
could clinch the Forester’s South West Counties League on Monday
afternoon. They meet closest rivals Aldershot Town at Newport
Stadium (kick off 4.30) and a win would put them beyond the Ryman
League club’s possible points total and bring the trophy to Wales
after two successive seasons in which they finished runners-up. |
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TUESDAY 11th MARCH HAVANT & WATERLOOVILLE 1 NEWPORT COUNTY 0This latest reverse sees us drop just below the halfway mark but, once again, we did not get the reward we deserved. Cruel luck for Garry Shephard ten minutes before the break and a hotly disputed lead-up to the game’s only goal |
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made it an eventful night at Westleigh Park as
both sides ended the game with ten men.
Havant made the
more incisive start with full back Brett Poate giving us a rehearsal
of the second half winner with two free kicks that caused problems
in the first twelve minutes.
We could, and
should, have taken a half time lead into the dressing room with two
near misses in the space of five minutes. Garry Shephard was
involved in both, his low cross being turned way over the bar by
Matt Rose and then, breaking clear, lobbing the goalkeeper only to
see the ball come back off a post.
The second half saw
the game sidetracked by incidents and controversy, starting with the
free kick on 50 minutes for a challenge that looked totally
innocuous but ended with Poate’s free kick going straight in from
a wide angle.
Protests were long
and, unfortunately, Peter Nicholas was ordered from the dugout as a
result. Nine minutes from time Havant substitute Wes Chambers was
sent off for a challenge on the grounded Pat Mountain and the team
numbers were levelled in the last minute with Jason Perry sent off
after a second yellow card.
Amidst the
distractions, we had two chances in the last ten minutes, Mike
Fowler heading over and Garry Shephard seeing a shot go straight at
home ‘keeper Aaron Kerr.
Line-Up: P.
Mountain, C. Collins, S. Benton, J. Perry, B. Clark, N. Davies (M.
Fowler 21), M. Rose, N. Davis, J. Eckhardt, G. Shephard, K. Dimond.
Subs: R. French, A. Stevenson, A. Thomas, R. Ashington. Att: 349.
CARDIFF CITY TICKETS – TREMENDOUS
RESPONSE
Our F A W Premier
Cup semi-final with Cardiff City has produced a great deal of
interest from supporters. So much so that, having put the tickets on
sale at 10am on Monday, we had sold a quarter of them by Tuesday
lunchtime.
The ticket office
will be open from 10am – 4pm Monday to Friday and tickets will
also be available after admission to the Cambridge City game on
Saturday afternoon. Season Ticket holders have until 4 pm next
Tuesday (18th March) to claim their places but, in view
of the reaction to the game, we would ask that they ensure they are
claimed by Tuesday and, if possible, at Saturday’s game. It is
anticipated that any Season Ticket seats not claimed will be snapped
up very quickly after the Tuesday deadline has passed. |
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SATURDAY 8th MARCH HEDNESFORD TOWN 1 NEWPORT COUNTY 0
We outnumbered the
Pitmen in chances on a 3:1 ratio but it was not enough to prevent
defeat at Keys Park, the vital goal coming from David Berks nine
minutes into the second half. |
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We came close to
opening the scoring three times in the first half hour with Garry
Shephard, Kristian Dimond and Jeff Eckhardt all prominent. Nathan
Davies had a 38th minute goal bound shot deflected for a
corner but Pat Mountain was also in action in the last ten minutes
of the half saving well from Mark Jones header and tipping a Berks
free kick over the bar.
As very often
happens, the Hednesford goal came after another good spell of
pressure from us. Andrew Thomas headed wide from a Steve Benton free
kick, a “Shep” cross just eluded Jeff Eckhardt and a Chris
Collins free kick ended with home ‘keeper Mike Bingham pushing a
Ryan Ashington header over his crossbar.
Berks’ execution
of his chance came in the form of a fierce effort into the roof of
the net after Pat Mountain had denied Steven Piearce and the ensuing
clearance, unfortunately for us, fell perfectly for Berks to strike.
Matt Rose’s
return after suspension made a difference in the centre of the park
and his influence, together with that of Nathan Davies and Kristian
Dimond, was evident throughout, and it brought chances in the later
stages.
Substitute Richard
French headed wide on 66 minutes, but the main siege of the
Hednesford goal came in the last ten minutes with Garry Shephard,
Richard French and Raith Plant (twice) almost grabbing an equaliser
with Pat Mountain the only player outside the home penalty area.
Line-Up: P.
Mountain, C. Collins, S. Benton (R. Plant 76), J. Perry, A. Thomas,
N. Davies, M. Rose, K. Dimond, J. Eckhardt (N. Davis 68), G.
Shephard, R. Ashington (R. French 57). Subs: A. Stevenson, M.
Fowler. Att: 454. |
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THURSDAY 6th MARCH
F
A W PREMIER CUP S/FINAL
MON
24TH MAR K.O. 6.55 PM TICKETING ARRANGEMENTS
Following our
confirmation that Newport Stadium will be the venue for our F A W
Premier Cup semi final with Cardiff City, we are now able to advise
ticketing arrangements.
The match will be
all-ticket, staged with a 2,000 capacity crowd, Cardiff City having
a total ticket allocation of 500, all for the Spytty Road end of the
stadium. All of the
Cardiff City allocation will be sold EXCLUSIVELY at Ninian Park and
only to those members of the club who are in possession of photo/id
cards issued by Cardiff City.
1,000 tickets will
be available for the grandstand, of which blocks A & B will be
specially reserved for family groups. The remaining 500 tickets will
be for the newly covered Spytty Park terrace, the capacity reduction
of that area allowing for the fact that BBC cameras will be sited in
that location.
The admission
charges for the game reflect increased security costs with the adult
ticket price being £10, senior citizens £6 and juniors £3, the
charges applying both to grandstand and terrace.
Tickets will go
on sale at 10.00 am next Monday 10th March with the
ticket office being open from 10am - 4pm Monday to Friday until
Friday 21st March. No tickets will be on sale thereafter.
Tickets will
also be on sale after admission to our home game with Cambridge city
at Newport Stadium on Saturday 15th March whilst season
ticket holders will have until 6pm on Tuesday 18th March
to claim their seats.
Demand for
tickets is likely to be high and early application is suggested.
Postal applications can be made with cheque payment and S A E
accompanying the application to:
F A W PREMIER CUP
TICKETS, NEWPORT COUNTY AFC, NEWPORT STADIUM, LANGLAND WAY, SPYTTY
PARK, NEWPORT NP19 4PT |
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TUESDAY 4th MARCH SCOTTY MOVES TO CHIPPENHAM
Midfielder Scott
Walker has left us to join Chippenham Town. The 22 year old former
Bath player joined us in July 2001 on a Bosman-type international
transfer and made 80 appearances, the last being as a substitute at
Weymouth on Saturday. We wish “Scotty” every success at
Hardenhuish Park. |
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ANOTHER YOUTH TEAM SUCCESS –
ANOTHER SEMI FINAL PLACE
With our senior
team shortly to contest the F A W Premier Cup semi-final, our
youngsters reached the same stage of the Welsh Youth Cup with a 2-1
win over Port Talbot at a rain-swept Newport Stadium last night.
Chris Rogers gave us a half time lead and, despite a Port Talbot
equaliser, John Phillips continued his good scoring form to see us
through to the last four of the competition. |
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SATURDAY 1st MARCH WEYMOUTH 2 NEWPORT COUNTY 0
Our two-week lay
off didn’t end with any reward although our approach work was of
very good quality. However, we failed to take advantage of a number
of good moves that broke down either as we approached the opposition
penalty area or with the finish. |
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It didn’t help
that a 25 yard effort from Martyn Sullivan put Weymouth ahead after
just six minutes, but we could easily have been ahead by half time
but for Jeff Eckhardt, Ryan Ashington and Kristian Dimond all
failing to find the target and a twin challenge by Raith Plant and
Gary Shephard seeing goalkeeper and defender somehow keep it out.
New signing Dimond
had a solid and promising debut but it was “Shep” who went
closest to a goal for us in the second half. One effort saw Mark
Robinson make a desperate clearance whilst a tremendous 20 yard shot
on the turn needed home ‘keeper Jason Matthews to tip it over.
As we pushed
forward in the later stages Weymouth sealed up the game when Lee
Phillips, showing again the form that we enjoyed at the end of last
season, cleverly set up Robinson with a back heel, to finish
emphatically from close range.
Line-Up: P.
Mountain, C. Collins, S. Benton (J. Perry 71), R. Plant (S. Walker
64), A. Thomas, N. Davies, R. Ashington, K. Dimond, J. Eckhardt, G.
Shephard, R. French (D. Sherman 77). Subs: A. Stevenson, S.
O’Brien. Att: 823. |
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FRIDAY 28th FEBRUARY
F A W PREMIER
CUP SEMI FINAL
We
are pleased to announce that, following discussions with Newport
Police and Newport City Council, Newport Stadium will be the venue
for our FAW Premier Cup semi final with Cardiff City on Monday 24th
March. |
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As
a result of the consultations that have taken place, the match will
be all-ticket, staged with a 2,000 capacity crowd, Cardiff City
having a total ticket allocation of 500, all for the Spytty Road end
of the stadium. All of
the Cardiff City allocation will be sold exclusively at Ninian Park
and only to those Cardiff City members who are in possession of
Photo/ID cards issued by Cardiff City.
1,000
tickets will be available for the grandstand, of which blocks A
& B will be specially reserved for family groups. The
remaining 500 tickets will be for the newly covered Spytty Park
Terrace, the capacity reduction of that area allowing for the fact
that BBC cameras will be sited in that location.
The
admission charges for the game reflect increased security costs with
the adult ticket price being £10, senior citizens £6 and juniors
£3 - the charges applying both to grandstand and terrace. No
tickets will be sold on the day of the match and further ticketing
sale arrangements will be announced shortly.
Club
Chairman Wallace Brown commented: “We are delighted the game will
be staged at home with the match providing another excellent
football night at Newport Stadium. We have the opportunity to play
Wales’ top club side in pursuit of a place in the final of a
lucrative competition that has special significance for our
supporters”. Chief Inspector Carl Close of Newport Police said “County v. Cardiff is as big as local derbies come. We are working closely with the club and the council to ensure that the match is both a safe and enjoyable occasion”. |
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SATURDAY 15th FEBRUARY NEWPORT COUNTY 0 TAMWORTH 1
A home defeat in
which we produced just one noteworthy goal effort – but a valuable
90 minutes in realising what it takes to win promotion to the
Conference. That, surely, is the progress that awaits Tamworth after
they proved what many have said, that they are the best team – by
far – in the Dr. Martens League. |
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Their organisation
and ability to close down our players made the game an unattractive
one – but produced for them the result that makes it all
worthwhile.
True, Pat
Mountain’s first significant response took all of twenty minutes,
but he was quite busy thereafter. He stopped a Mark Cooper free
kick, a Dave Robinson header and two efforts from Scott Rickards, as
well as picking the ball out of the net on 24 minutes.
A good move,
started with a telling long pass from left back to right wing, saw
Nick Colley cross and Graham Atkinson elude our defensive cover to
grab more than enough space to plant into the net a very firm header
indeed.
We used all three
substitutes in the second half but could not break the Tamworth
stranglehold that could have tightened had Robinson’s 59th
minute looping header done more than bounce off the crossbar.
Tamworth had two
more chances in the last eleven minutes with Mark Turner heading
wide and Atkinson, looking for his second, seeing a shot blocked by
Pat Mountain.
Finally, a
reminder, we travel to Ilkeston on Tuesday night for our rearranged
game at The New Manor Ground. Kick off is at 7.45.
Line-Up: P.
Mountain, C. Collins (J. Perry 56), S. Benton, B. Clark, A. Thomas,
N. Davies, R. French, M. Fowler (D. Sherman 80), J. Eckhardt, G.
Shephard, R. Ashington (R. Plant 60). Subs: S. Walker, G. Jones. Att:
804. |
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SATURDAY 8th
FEBRUARY NEWPORT COUNTY 1 HASTINGS UNITED 1
A game that really
was in stark contrast to the Swansea match. To start with, the kick
off was twelve minutes late after match referee Simon Snartt was
taken ill and a replacement found for assistant ref Rob Welfare who
stepped up to take the game. |
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The ninety minutes,
which promised much when Nathan Davies gave us an early lead,
fizzled out with Hastings grabbing their equaliser with a quarter of
an hour to go, the match having only three corners, all for
Hastings.
The move that
brought us the lead started with Steve Benton on the left. He fed
Garry Shephard, whose shot rebounded to the edge of the area. Nathan
Davies, just two goals in 126 appearances, then added 50% to his
goal tally with a crisp low shot into the far corner.
Jeff Eckhardt
headed a Mike Fowler free kick over the bar but our only other first
half attempt of note saw Allan Stevenson fire straight at Hastings
‘keeper Dave King.
Hastings looked
more businesslike after the break and made several chances although
Nathan could have scored another when King held his 58th minute
shot, after some initial difficulty.
Hastings got their
reward when a right wing cross was headed down and substitute Joel
Bevis crashed a shot on the turn past Pat Mountain. Line-Up: P. Mountain, C. Collins, S. Benton, B. Clark, A. Thomas, N. Davies, A. Stevenson (D. Sherman 67), M. Fowler, J. Eckhardt, G. Shephard, R. Ashington (S. Walker 78). Subs: R. Plant, J. Perry, R. French. Att: 667. |
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FRIDAY 31st JANUARY
RESERVE
GOALKEEPER DEPARTS
Tim Hart, who
joined us in the summer as cover for Pat Mountain, has moved to Dr.
Martens Western Division side Evesham United. Tim’s opportunities
to play have been limited because of Pat’s excellent form and we
wish him well in his future career. |
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YOUTH TEAM SUCCESS
Our youngsters
continued their excellent run of results in the Forester’s South
West Counties League tonight but their Newport Stadium victory over
Clevedon Town was only by a slender 1-0 scoreline. John Phillips'
early goal proved the match winner but there was a major injury
scare for full back Lee Jones. Lee was carried off soon after half time
with what was thought at the time to be a suspected broken leg but,
happily, the subsequent medical report proved otherwise and we hope
Lee will be back in action fairly quickly..
CARDIFF CITY FAW PREMIER CUP TIE
Following
Wednesday’s draw that gives us a home game against the Second
Division promotion challengers in the semi-final, we will be
discussing with Police and Newport City Council officials the
arrangements that need to be put in place. No final decision has
been made regarding dates but it is understood that the match is
likely to be in April. Further news will, of course, be posted on
the website. |
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TUESDAY 28th
JANUARY
NEWPORT COUNTY 3 SWANSEA CITY 1
This was a superb
FAW Premier Cup evening, enjoyed by match spectators and a live
television audience, as we won our first game against League
opposition. The quality of goals was a major talking point as well
with all three of ours bringing most of the crowd to their feet. |
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We made the best
possible start when, four minutes in, Garry Shephard crossed from
the left and Jeff Eckhardt appeared to get the slightest of glances
to the ball to beat Roger Freestone. Television evidence has cast
doubt as to whether Jeff got a final touch but, for the moment at
least, we are crediting him with the goal.
James Thomas had a
number of chances for Swansea but Pat Mountain was in good form
before it was Jamie Wood who levelled the score with a bullet-like
shot from the edge of the area.
We re-took the lead
on 27 minutes with a passing move that will be long remembered. Mike
Fowler, Garry Shephard and Ryan Ashington were the architects with
Ryan having the final say with a low shot past Roger Freestone.
We were unlucky
nine minutes later when Billy Clark’s goal bound shot hit Matt
Rose but, after Pat Mountain had denied Wood and Terry Evans in the
second half, we then clinched the game with another excellent goal
ten minutes from time. Jeff Eckhardt's astute lay off from a ball
forward set Garry Shephard away and “Shep” made no mistake with
a right-foot shot past Freestone.
We now eagerly
await Wednesday evening’s semi-final draw that will see us in the
hat with Cardiff City, Wrexham and Rhyl.
Line-Up: P.
Mountain, C. Collins, S. Benton, B. Clark, A. Thomas, N. Davies, M.
Rose, M. Fowler (A. Stevenson 90), J. Eckhardt, G. Shephard, R.
Ashington. Subs: S. Walker, R. Plant, J. Perry, R. French. Att: 843. |
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SATURDAY 25th JANUARY LATEST SWANSEA TICKET INFORMATION
The
problem with the Spytty Park Terrace - once again it is still not
available - is having a knock-on effect on ticket sales for the
Swansea game. There was a tremendous demand for grandstand tickets
at the Bath game and we strongly advise supporters who have not
yet obtained their Grandstand tickets to do so on Monday. Our
office at Newport Stadium will be open right through from 10 am
to 8 pm. |
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NEWPORT COUNTY 1 BATH CITY 1
Our
unbeaten Dr. Martens run may be up to five games but the feeling was
a little flat after the usual well-contested game against the men
from Twerton. |
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Our
undoubted commitment was not quite enough in a game that saw us make
good early chances that we should have taken advantage of. Garry
Shephard and Matt Rose could have each scored in the first three
minutes but it was Frankie Bennett, Bath’s match-winner in our
game there in December, that put his side ahead with a close range
finish to a low cross from the right.
We
levelled on 40 minutes when Raith Plant, an early sub for injured
Mike Fowler, fired home from wide on the right, his effort aided by
a post. We made most of the second half running with Garry Shephard,
normally so sure-footed in front of goal missing a number of
opportunities, the best being a one-to-one with goalkeeper Mark
Bryant on 62 minutes.
Neil
Davis’ first start for nearly two months ended prematurely with
another injury 13 minutes from time but the ever-dependable Jeff
Eckhardt provided some important presence in those later stages that
saw Bryant a busy man. Ryan Ashington was named sponsor’s
man-of-the-match.
Line-Up:
P. Mountain, C. Collins, S. Benton, B. Clark, A. Thomas, N. Davies,
M. Rose, M. Fowler (R. Plant 11 (R. French 72)), N. Davis (J.
Eckhardt 77), G. Shephard, R. Ashington. Subs: J. Perry, A.
Stevenson. Att: 856. |
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FRIDAY 24th JANUARY ANOTHER TERRACE ROOF BLOW
Contrary
to the assurances given to us by the contractors that the work would
be completed and the site cleared by Friday afternoon, the
Spytty Park Terrace, that has been the subject of a number of
deadlines for completion, will still NOT be completed and the
terrace NOT be available for the Swansea City game on Tuesday
evening.
Remarkably,
the roof panelling only arrived on site on Thursday morning and we
are informed that the back panelling will not be arriving until
Monday at the earliest. As a result, representatives of Newport City
Council could not allow the terrace to be used on safety grounds.
This
latest letdown means that standing areas of the stadium will be as
they have been in recent games but the Spytty Road Terrace has been
given over to Swansea supporters as per Police instructions. Consequently, we now anticipate a high demand for grandstand seats for the Swansea game and these will be on sale at the Bath game tomorrow and from 10am – 8pm on Monday. |
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TUESDAY 21st JANUARY CHRIS JOINS UP
Chris
Collins, who has made such a good impression during his recent loan
spell, has joined us on a permanent basis having left Swindon Town.
The full back, who made his debut in the Boxing Day game with
Worcester, thus becomes the second signing by Peter Nicholas, after
Ryan Ashington’s recent move from Torquay. |
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POSSIBLE
FRIENDLIES
With scheduled February 1st opponents Havant & Waterlooville still in the F A Trophy, we are looking to fit in a friendly on either Friday 31st January or Sunday 2nd February. We also have a blank date on Saturday 22nd February that may also provide the opportunity for a friendly. First news here on the website. |
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SATURDAY 18th JANUARY
CHIPPENHAM
TOWN 0 NEWPORT COUNTY 0 |
