All the facts you need, ahead of our trip to Hartlepool United.
After a draw last weekend against Crewe Alexandra, Newport County will be looking for a win in the league before their attentions turn to the EFL Trophy.
Looking at the home side
Hartlepool United find themselves in thirteenth place in the table with five points from their first four games in the league but similarly to County, they are without a win in two games. Their latest defeat came at home to Notts County when the Magpies came from a goal down to win by two goals to one. The Pools will be looking to get a win against Newport before they face Notts again on Tuesday night, this time in the opening group game of the EFL Trophy.
Form Guide (all competitions)
Newport County – L L W L D
Hartlepool United – D L W D L
Getting there
By car: The trip up to the North-East is a very long one at 280 miles and will take around four and a half hours to complete. Take the M4, A449, A40, M50, M5, M42, A42, M1, M18, A1(M), A168, A19 and the A689 to Victoria Park.
By train: Taking the train to the game is not advised as it would require an overnight stay before being able to get back to Newport. However if this is part of your plan then to go via train it is necessary to leave Newport at 7:04am, taking a train to Manchester Piccadilly where you will have a 40 minute wait before catching a connection to Thornaby (the train goes through to Middlesbrough). At Thornaby you will have a half an hour wait before taking a northern service train through to Hartlepool, which will get you there at 2pm.
Upcoming Milestones
Mark Randall – 2 appearances for 125 career appearances
Jon Parkin – 4 goals for 175 career goals
Lenell John-Lewis – 1 goal for 50 career goals
Ben Tozer – 4 appearances for 250 career appearances
Tom Owen-Evans – 4 appearances for 25 career appearances
Sean Rigg – 3 appearances for 375 career appearances
Hartlepool’s record against County
Played 6 Won 2 Drawn 3 Lost 1 Goals For 8 Goals Against 6
Tuesday 15th March 2016: Newport County 0 – 0 Hartlepool United
Tuesday 18th August 2015: Hartlepool United 1 – 0 Newport County
Friday 3rd April 2015: Newport County 2 – 2 Hartlepool United (Jones 44’, O’Connor 48’)
Saturday 1st November 2014: Hartlepool United 2 – 2 Newport County (Zebroski 38’, O’Connor 57’)
Saturday 15th February 2014: Hartlepool United 3 – 0 Newport County
Friday 15th November 2013: Newport County 2 – 0 Hartlepool United (Worley 7’, Washington 64’)
Last Meeting
After the original match was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Rodney Parade, the rescheduled Tuesday night fixture in March was played out in front of a low crowd and the resulting 0-0 draw did little to help both side’s seasons.
Last Time Out
A Sean Rigg goal gave Newport County a point in the 1-1 draw with Crewe Alexandra in the first ever competitive meeting between the two sides. Warren Feeney played the same starting eleven and the same three substitutes as he did in midweek against Luton Town, with Joss Labadie picking up his third yellow card of the season.
The Man in Charge
Andy Haines has the whistle for this fixture with his assistants Wayne Grunnill and Paul Marsden, the fourth official is Helen Byrne. This is Haines’ tenth season on the list and he can referee at Championship level. Due to this the only time he has taken charge of County was in 2013 in the 4-1 away defeat to Fleetwood Town when he sent off Robbie Willmott in the third minute of the game and Chris Zebroski scored a penalty in the 71st minute. So far this season he has taken charge of five games and handed out 15 yellow cards. In his ten years on the list he has taken charge of 276 matches, handed out 781 yellow cards at an average of 2.8 a game, and sent players down the tunnel early on 41 occasions.
Around the league (all times 3pm)
Accrington Stanley v Morecambe
Barnet v Carlisle United
Blackpool v Plymouth Argyle
Cambridge United v Luton Town
Cheltenham Town v Crewe Alexandra
Crawley Town v Notts County
Doncaster Rovers v Yeovil Town
Exeter City v Portsmouth
Grimsby Town v Stevenage
Leyton Orient v Mansfield Town
Wycombe Wanderers v Colchester United