SATURDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2008
Blue Square South
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SATURDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2008 Blue Square South |
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This was a throwback to the BB days of Newport County ‘Before Beads’ because there has been no performance to compare since the present management team have been able to impose their mark on the football club.
In seeking parallels, the 4-0 defeat at Weymouth in March 2006 comes to mind but nothing since then has approached the level of this display. In saying that however, Thurrock deserve full credit because they were certainly not flattered by the winning margin which could and should have been greater in their favour. They have proved a thorn in County’s flesh every time the sides have met and have now won five and drawn two of the seven matches between the clubs, but there is no question of jinxes; they simply outplayed County in football terms throughout the 90 minutes.
There are some who will say that County were distracted by the FAW Premier Cup game at Cardiff on 19 February, but those who know the manager will also know that he would not allow such thoughts to take root. His subsequent comment was that none of the team deserves selection for Tuesday on their performance at Thurrock.
There were a few eyebrows raised at the team selection, as Beads adjusted for the absence of the suspended Steve Jenkins and Lee Fowler but it was one of those days when selection and tactics were irrelevant as the team failed to perform. Thurrock signalled their intentions straight from the kick-off as David Bryant forced a first minute save from Glyn Thompson at the expense of a corner, the first of 13 forced by the home side as County struggled to escape their own half in the opening period.
The County keeper saved a Lee Flynn free-kick and then the delightfully named Bai Mas Lettejallow was unfortunate to see a long range effort deflected off a County head narrowly over the bar. It looked a matter of time before the first home goal as, with the wind at Thurrock’s backs, Bryant forced another good save from Thompson who then had to spare the blushes of Mark Dodds after the defender’s clearance rebounded off a team mate into the path of Che Stadhart who could not believe the keeper saved his effort. All of this was inside the first 13 minutes.
Somehow County managed to survive until half-time with their goal intact with Richard Evans creating a flurry of excitement as his cross from the left rebounded off the bar, but the ball had already passed out of play for a goal kick.
Debut making Andy Gurney found the game passing him by before a foul 30 yards out gave him the first of three opportunities to show the long range accuracy he displayed against County for Weston on Boxing Day. Unfortunately he was not as successful.
MATT PAINE gave Thurrock a richly deserved lead when his downward header from a Lettejallow corner squirmed its way through a crowd of defenders over the line for a most unsatisfactory 59th minute goal from a defensive perspective and BRYANT effectively killed off what little resistance County offered four minutes later when he showed neat footwork to create the chance to slot the ball past Thompson.
Julian Alsop and Richard Evans were replaced by Charlie Griffin and Jermaine Clarke but by this time you wanted to see Rooney and Ronaldo coming on if County were to have any hope of salvation! James Simpson was cautioned for a shirt pull and somehow BRYANT was able to stoop to knee height to head in Greg Lincoln’s free-kick at the near post to round off the scoring in the 78th minute.
Griffin flashed a shot just wide in the 85th minute from County’s best move which had involved Gurney, Craig Hughes and Jason Bowen, but a consolation goal was not forthcoming, while Nathan Davies and Lee Jarman were also cautioned by referee Ian Gosling who had a good match in the middle.
Man of the Match: Thurrock: Greg Lincoln (Director of football - on the pitch). County: Glyn Thompson (No choice really). Special Mention: The travelling fans who outnumbered the home supporters. Did the attendance include those in the nearby Lakeside Shopping Centre? |
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© Colin Jeremiah |
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