As another season draws to a close it is time once again to look back and review the recently concluded campaign, starting with the first few games in August.
Saturday 8th August 2015 – Cambridge United (A) – Lost 3-0 – 23rd position – 0 points
It wasn’t the start to the season that many County fans had been hoping for as Newport only registered two shots on target in their opening day 3-0 defeat to Cambridge United. Barry Corr’s brace had put Cambridge two goals ahead before the Exiles were awarded a penalty when Scott Boden was fouled in the area, but Medy Elito’s spot kick was saved by Sam Beasant. Robbie Simpson then killed the game off with ten minutes to go and sent Terry Butcher’s men home empty handed.
Tuesday 11th August 2015 – Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) – Lost 2-1 – Eliminated from League Cup 1st Round
Scott Boden left Newport fans dreaming of a potential cup shock when he headed home the first goal of the game at Molineux after just six minutes to give Newport County the lead, only for Wolves to level the game ten minutes later and then they took the lead through a Benik Afobe penalty just before the hour mark leaving County and their fans heartbroken.
Saturday 15th August 2015 – Stevenage (H) – Drew 2-2 – 20th position – 1 point
Newport’s first home game of the season welcomed Stevenage to Rodney Parade and after the away side took the lead just before half-time from a counter attack, it was Aaron Collins who scored Newport’s first league goal of the season on 58 minutes when he headed home from close-range, that was followed by Scott Boden eleven minutes from time. County felt as though they may be heading for their first win of the season but for Mark Hughes scoring in the first minute of added time to ensure that both sides gained their first point of the season.
Tuesday 18th August 2015 – Hartlepool United (A) – Lost 1-0 – 21st position – 1 point
The long mid-week trip to Victoria Park was an unhappy one for Newport County as Scott Fenwick scored the only goal for Hartlepool five minutes after the break when he scored from the edge of the area, and they would have felt hard done by to only score the one goal after Regan Poole cleared a second effort off the line.
Saturday 22nd August 2015 – Leyton Orient (H) – Lost 3-2 – 23rd position – 1 point
Leyton Orient maintained their perfect start to the season when they visited Rodney Parade after scoring two goals in the first seven minutes of the game to assert their dominance over the Exiles. Newport did manage to claw their way back into the game thanks to two goals in two minutes from Scott Boden and Mark Byrne just before half-time, only for Dean Cox to regain the lead for the O’s a minute before the hour mark to send Newport into the relegation zone.
Saturday 29th August 2015 – Plymouth Argyle (A) – Lost 1-0 – 24th position – 1 point
Newport finished August at the bottom of the football league after defeat away at Plymouth Argyle after Graham Carey found the top corner of the net two minutes before half-time. Both sides hit the crossbar in the second half, Zak Ansah’s curled effort struck it first before Carey almost doubled Plymouth’s advantage when he struck the woodwork from a free kick.
Round Up
At the end of August County found themselves at the bottom of League 2 with only one point from five games and it would take them another five matches to record their first win of the season. The fans though remained optimistic about what the side could achieve over the course of the coming months, and an enthralling night at Rodney Parade wasn’t far around the corner when Newport took League One Swindon Town all the way to a penalty shootout in the JPT.
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