Wednesday 19 March 2008

Blue Square South

Within the space of 90 minutes at Newport Stadium, the mood changed from one of optimism and confidence, to the contrasting emotions of desperation and dissatisfaction.  That is what a game of football can do to you, but it is only fair to acknowledge, before commenting on County’s shortcomings, that Welling United deserved their success and to congratulate them on clearly getting their match preparation correct.

A disappointed County boss Peter Beadle explained afterwards that his own preparations had concentrated on ensuring there was no element of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’, and whether County were psychologically still basking in the glories of eight days earlier or not, unfortunately that was exactly how it appeared.  The first problem that Beads had was how to accommodate the absence of the suspended duo of left-back Damon Searle and playmaker in chief Jason Bowen.  He resisted the temptation to mess with the spine of the side which has looked so strong recently and swapped right-back and captain Steve Jenkins to the left flank, with Ian Hillier returning at right-back where he excelled for most of his debut season two years ago.  Lee Fowler, whose cameo performance as a late substitute on the left flank had influenced the FAW Premier Cup victory, was given his chance in Bowen’s slot wide on the right.

Twenty twenty hindsight being the perfect science of terrace critics ensured that if it went wrong it would all be the manager’s fault.  It did go wrong, but for that, the players must take a share of the responsibility while Welling United’s boss Andy Ford also deserves credit for stifling County with a 4-5-1 formation which ensured that the visitors won the midfield battle and controlled the tempo of the game.

The match started in farce with Andy Gurney’s attempt to score direct from the kick-off simply conceding possession to Welling and County spent most of the opening period trying to reclaim it.  Welling’s new keeper Steve Williams, signed from Sittingbourne last Friday, was no doubt grateful to get an early feel of the ball and it helped him settle quickly into a confident display of exemplary handling.  Having said that, a routine save from a shot on the turn from Charlie Griffin on 21 minutes was the only other occasion in the entire evening that Williams was called upon to deny a Newport shot passage to the net.

Welling did not produce much in the way of goal threat in the first half but they kept the ball predominantly in County territory and whenever the home side tried to break out of defence, the Wings won every second ball in midfield.  In attacking midfielder Orlando Smith, Welling had a player who was as much of an irritant as a rash that won’t go away and if his final ball had matched his pace and the quality of his first touch, he would have drawn comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo.  In contrast County’s shape looked all wrong, though that may have been the product of 10 outfield players all having an off day which can happen to the best of teams.

Smith forced a decent diving save from Scott James in the 41st minute while Gurney was close with a near post header from a good cross from Craig Hughes two minutes later.  That was that for the first half and the home faithful were at least relieved that Welling did not hold the first half lead their superiority merited.

Surely the second period could now be treated as a new game with County unchanged and sent on a mission to put matters right.  There was an almost immediate chance for Griffin to do so and his left foot shot on the turn crashed against the underside of the crossbar bouncing down on the line or over it, depending upon your judgement or bias.  The assistant referee on the stand side could honestly not have judged with near certainty that it was a goal and was therefore correct not to signal one.  Eye witness accounts from those close to the line presented different accounts but if the shot had struck the back of the net there would have been no room for dispute.

Fate then neatly turned the tables on County as Welling immediately transferred play to the Spytty Road end and forced a right-wing corner which Sam Gargan decisively headed into the top corner of the net at the near post.  Cue mutterings about not conceding from set pieces, but corners present opportunities and sometimes these convert into goals whatever the marking.  Following that for all their huffing and puffing, County created nothing beyond a few snap shots which did not trouble Williams.  Sonny Cobbs had the ball in the net again for Welling but celebrations were cut short by an offside flag.

Damned if you do and damned if you don’t, Beads went for all out attack with the departure of defender Hillier and Gurney from midfield to be replaced by forwards Jermaine Clarke and the returning Sam O’Sullivan while the last throw of the dice saw Lee Jarman replaced by Julian Alsop, but while Clarke did produce a good effort deep into injury time, the victory was Welling’s.  To quote a cliché, there are no easy games in Blue Square South and more performances like that will move the Wings away from the nether reaches of the table.

Man of the Match:

County: On a disappointing night all round, probably best not to make a nomination.

Welling: Orlando Smith - a constant livewire and one of many impressive performers.

© Newport County AFC