County will be looking to make it seven games unbeaten in all competitions this Saturday, when we travel to South Wales to take on Newport County in League Two.
Despite making seven changes for last weekend’s FA Cup tie against Swindon Town, a stunning 4-0 win for County saw us make it five wins from our last six games, keeping six consecutive clean sheets in the process.
A 0-0 draw away at Tranmere in our last league outing leaves us 14th in League Two, ten points above the relegation zone and now just six points off the play-off places, following Carlisle’s draw with Harrogate on Tuesday night.
Newport meanwhile sit six points further back in 18th, having put together a three-match unbeaten run under new manager Graham Coughlan. In their last league outing, they took an early lead away at promotion-chasing Northampton, only to be pegged back in stoppage time by a Sam Hoskins equaliser.
Our Opponents:
Newport are now in their ninth consecutive season in League Two, having earned promotion to the Football League back in 2013 with a play-off final win against Wrexham at Wembley. It ended a 25-year exile from the EFL for the Welsh side.
In recent years, the Exiles have come agonisingly close to going one step further too, reaching the League Two play-off final in 2019 and 2021, only to suffer heartbreaking defeats to Tranmere and Morecambe under manager Mike Flynn (not that one).
A slow start to last season led to long-term boss Flynn departing in October, leaving the Club sat in 15th, with Cardiff City first-team coach James Rowberry appointed as his replacement.
The new boss enjoyed a fine start to life in the dugout at Rodney Parade too, having his side flying high in 3rd place with just nine games of the season remaining and well on course to challenge for promotion to League One.
It proved to be a case of falling at the final hurdle for the Welsh side though, as just two wins from those final nine saw them drop out of promotion contention altogether, eventually finishing in 11th – seven points shy of a play-off spot.
Unfortunately for Rowberry that form carried over into the new season, with a run of just three wins from their opening 13 League Two games spelling the end of the 37-year-old’s time in charge of the Club. He left with the side sat in 18th place, just three points above the drop zone.
Former Bristol Rovers and Mansfield boss Graham Coughlan has been chosen as the new man at the helm and the 47-year-old has enjoyed a strong start to life at his new Club.
In his first game in charge, an early goal from Will Evans secured a vital 1-0 win against fellow strugglers Colchester United at Rodney Parade, before following that up with impressive draws away at promotion-chasers Mansfield and Northampton.
Colchester were again put to the sword in the FA Cup last weekend, before suffering a first defeat under Coughlan on Tuesday night when losing 3-0 at Premier League Leicester City in the Carabao Cup.
What has really hampered the side so far this season has been the results on their home patch – they currently have the worst home record in League Two, with just seven points picked up from their opening eight games at Rodney Parade. Those two wins against Colchester, however, will give Newport fans hope that things will be different under their new manager.
One to watch:
Newport were dealt a significant blow over the Summer with the loss of last season’s League Two golden boot winner Dominic Telford, who left to join Crawley Town having scored 25 goals in 2021/22.
Thankfully for the Exiles, his replacement has proved to be a big success. Striker Omar Bogle joined after leaving Hartlepool United in the summer, and the 30-year-old has proved a real handful for League Two defences so far this season. He’s scored seven goals in 17 league appearances so far, as well as grabbing a couple in the Papa John’s Trophy, and he’ll be the main dangerman for the home side this weekend.
Match Stats:
- County are looking to keep seven consecutive clean sheets in all competitions for the first time since the famous ‘nine in a row’ run in 2006/07.
- We are unbeaten in our last six games against Newport County, a run dating back to 1980, but haven’t beaten them away from home since 1987.
