A typical Welsh summer afternoon greeted supporters at Rodney Parade, with the morning having been plagued by showers.
Hayden Mullins’ side went into the match off the back of a Severnside derby defeat at Bristol Rovers, but looking to bounce back to the form of the opening-day victory against Rochdale and make it two wins from two at Rodney Parade.
Tranmere Rovers came into the fixture unbeaten in the league, following an opening-day win over Shrewsbury Town and a hard-fought point against Port Vale last weekend.
Hayden Mullins made one change to his starting eleven, with Bournemouth loanee Alfie Merritt coming in at left-back. Latest addition and loanee Matt Dibley-Dias was named among the substitutes. Former Exile Courtney Baker-Richardson was absent from the Tranmere squad, denying him a return to Rodney Parade.
Despite the morning showers, the clouds broke for kick-off, shining light onto the Rodney Parade pitch as Tranmere got the match underway.
The first chance of the match fell County’s way in the seventh minute, as a sharp piece of trickery down the right wing from Ciaran Brennan beat two defenders before his wicked delivery was intercepted by Luke McGee before Christian Doidge could power home.
The opening goal came in the 11th minute as Shaquille Gwengwe made it three goals in three matches.
Cameron Evans’ aggressive midfield tackle won the ball back, with possession then worked out to Harrison Biggins on the right-hand side. His floated back-post delivery found the outstretched head of Gwengwe, who miraculously lifted the ball over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
County nearly struck again just two minutes later as Christian Doidge continued to be a handful for the Tranmere centre-halves. As the ball dropped in a scramble inside the box, Doidge poked it towards goal, but McGee saved well amongst the crowd. However, the plaudits were short-lived as the flag was raised.
A special applause took place in the 14th minute as the Amber Army remembered Kieran Sanges, who sadly lost his battle with cancer at the age of 14 nine years ago today.
County could have had another a minute later as Biggins’ free-kick delivery caused havoc in the box once again, with grey shirts scrambling to clear.
The opening 20 minutes passed with Tranmere pegged back in defence, with Jordan Wright remaining largely uninvolved.
As the half-hour mark passed, Tranmere began to grow into the match but could not seriously threaten the County back line.
Tranmere’s first real chance came in the 34th minute as Zane Okoro was brought down on the edge of the County box by young full-back Alfie Merritt. Tom Ince’s resulting effort failed to beat the wall of Amber shirts lined up in front of him.
Tranmere continued to pile on the pressure, with Jordan Wright called into action to brilliantly tip an effort from Tranmere skipper Will Vaulks over the bar.
County flipped the tide as we approached the 40th minute, with Biggins’ cool pass into Yahya Bamba allowing the winger to float a delicate ball towards the towering Doidge. However, a slight touch from Gwengwe took it away from the veteran forward, denying him a sure tap-in at the far post.
Tranmere hit straight back as the match began to pick up pace, with Kyle Cameron denying the visitors a certain goal in the 42nd minute by clearing the ball off the goal line and keeping County in the lead.
Christian Doidge saw the first yellow card of the match in the 43rd minute following an aerial collision with Nathan Smith.
The fourth official indicated one additional minute before bringing the first half to a close with County leading 1-0.
Half-time | Newport County 1-0 Tranmere Rovers
County made a change at the break as Dan Sassi came on to replace Alfie Merritt at full-back.
County continued their momentum from the first half through Bamba down the right-hand side, with the winger continuing to torment his opposite full-back and firing balls into the area for Doidge and Biggins to attack.
County were forced into a second change in the 54th minute as Christian Doidge hobbled off the pitch to be replaced by Cole Jarvis, who was seeking to add to his fresh goalscoring tally in Amber.
Cameron Norman joined the attack against his former side, as the County right-hand side of Bamba and Norman continued to find joy with attack after attack.
Similar to the first half, Tranmere grew into the game. Tom Ince found a pocket of space just shy of the hour mark but could only find the gloves of Jordan Wright.
Tranmere continued to build as County fell deeper, with a strike from left-back Jacob Slater nearly causing concern for the County number one.
Tranmere made their first changes of the match in the 65th minute as Sam Finley, Jordan Turnbull and Dylan Jones all entered the match.
Tranmere found the net in the 71st minute. Right-back Joel Senior’s overlapping run allowed him to reach the byline before firing a low-driven ball towards the near post, which was turned in by Zane Okoro.
County responded immediately with a double change as Kieron Evans made his competitive return in Amber and new signing Matt Dibley-Dias made his County debut, with Cameron Evans and Yahya Bamba making way.
Tranmere’s goal gave them an edge as the away end came to life, and they quickly scored once more in the 75th minute.
A long throw from the left-hand side was poorly defended, bouncing its way through to substitute Dylan Jones, who passed the ball home from close range.
Tranmere made another change in the 77th minute as Charlie Whitaker made way for Lee O’Connor. Joe Thomas entered the field in place of Ciaran Brennan during the same stoppage, before goalscorer Zane Okoro departed the field moments later for Patrick Brough.
The introduction of Thomas shifted the Exiles to a back three as they went hunting for an equaliser.
Fulham loanee Dibley-Dias saw yellow in the 84th minute as he halted an attack out wide.
County found an equaliser out of nowhere once again, thanks to their number nine, Shaquille Gwengwe, who scored his second of the match in the 89th minute.
A long throw from the right-hand side found its way to Gwengwe, whose hooking volley nestled into the far corner, causing the drum on the terrace to spring to life as the fourth official indicated five additional minutes.
With Hayden Mullins’ side now pushing to win the match, County continued to pile on the pressure, with Cole Jarvis’ volley saved by McGee in the Tranmere net.
That proved to be the last action of the match as referee Emily Heaslip blew her whistle, confirming that the points would be shared between the two sides.
Full-time | Newport County 2-2 Tranmere Rovers
Newport County: Jordan Wright, Cameron Norman, Lee Jenkins, Kyle Cameron (C), Alfie Merritt (Dan Sassi 45’), Ciaran Brennan (Joe Thomas 77’), Cameron Evans (Matt Dibley-Dias 71’), Harrison Biggins, Yahya Bamba (Kieron Evans 71’), Shaquille Gwengwe, Christian Doidge (Cole Jarvis 54’).
Substitutes: Jake Turner, Matt Smith.
Tranmere Rovers: Luke McGee, Joel Senior, Jacob Slater (Jordan Turnbull 65’), Nathan Smith (Dylan Jones 65’), Will Vaulks (C), Charlie Whitaker (Lee O’Connor 77’), Joe Ironside, Tom Ince, Tom Conlon (Sam Finley 65’), Bobby Faulkner, Zane Okoro (Patrick Brough 79’).
Subsititutes: Coniah Boyce-Clarke, Charlie Veevers.
Referee: Emily Heaslip
Assistant Referee: Thomas Staten
Assistant Referee: Jack Clench
Fourth Official: Richard J Morris
Attendance: 4,606 (458 away)