County off the mark against Burton
Newport County AFC got off the mark for the 2014/15 season as they played out a 1-1 draw with early front runners Burton Albion. Chris Zebroski's first half header was cancelled out in the second half by John Mousinho.County started strongly and within two minutes Andrew Hughes had the first chance of the game as his shot from distance ended up wide of the target. Just moments later Willmott's cross from the left found Chris Zebroski whose header was just over.
Ten minutes in Zebroski and Aaron O'Connor linked up well on the edge of the area with the ball safely finding its way to Jon McLaughlin in the Burton goal. County continued to press as Adam Chapman picked out Ryan Jackson on the right wing whose cross was safely gathered by McLaughlin.
County needed to be weary of the counter attack as Kevin Feely put in a perfectly timed challenge to deny Stuart Beavon a chance on goal. The County pressure paid off as Chris Zebroski headed home following man of the match Ryan Jackson's throw in. Just before half time Lee Minshull went close to doubling the lead as his volley from edge the box rattled the crossbar.
Burton started brightly second half and managed to find an equaliser, John Mousinho slotting home from inside the area. Just before the hour mark Aaron O'Connor managed to skip past Burton challenges on the edge of the box but was unable to get his shot away.
Ryan Jackson's long range effort was deflected behind for a corner. It was Ryan Jackson again who was in the right place at the right time to deny Ian Sharps powerful header as he cleared off the line with twenty minutes remaining.
Stuart Beavon had Lenny Pidgeley on his toes as his shot was well saved by the County stopper. It was the post that was next to come to County's rescue as Stuart Beavon's chance ended up rebounding off the upright.
Robbie Willmott cross found Chris Zebroski in the area whose effort flashed across the front of goal. As we reached stoppage County survived a number of late corners to claim their first point of the season.
Manager Justin Edinburgh commented after the game "any point is a good point and being at home today against the inform team in the league required a big performance and the players certainly stood up to that task. Disappointed not to get all three points, but I thought there was a big test for the players when it got back to 1-1 and they dealt with it very very well. They had a few corners towards the end but we dealt with the set back and continued to carry the game to Burton, so I'm pleased with that as we showed a lot of character today."