Exiles Remain Positive Despite Defeats

Newport County v Stockport County

Conference Premier Division

Saturday, 8 September 2012

Rodney Parade, Newport

 

2011 Campaign Helps County Stay Focused On The Good Times

Whilst some of the gloss may have been taken off Newport County’s excellent start to the season after the recent losses at Wrexham and Dartford, County fans would do well to remember that the Exiles current position of 15 points from 7 games and 3rd in the league remains far superior to the situation they found themselves in last season.  As Newport prepared for the away trip to Mansfield on the equivalent weekend last season, they had just one win (against Hayes) and five points to show for their seven outings and things would get a lot worse before they improved.

Many have argued that the away trip to Mansfield, which resulted in the 5-0 mauling that effectively put an end to Anthony Hudson’s reign,  was County’s worst performance since returning to the Conference Premier.  Even though Newport recorded a remarkable 4-3 victory there this season, Field Mill is never a particularly easy place to go.  However, 12 months ago, Newport made it look like the equivalent of Old Trafford as, in front of the live cameras, they went behind to a 12th minute Green strike and were outplayed and outfought in every area of the field.  To cap off a thoroughly miserable day for players and fans alike, in testament to the unpredictability of British weather given the pleasant conditions on the photograph beneath, the final five minutes of the game were then played out in absolutely torrential rain.

 

As the author and his 6yr daughter look on, Mansfield Town fire yet another shot at the Newport goal during the 5-0 drubbing the Exiles received on this weekend in 2011.

Photo courtesy of Sam Shingler (see Newport County Photos)

 

Unfortunately for County, things continued to spiral downwards after the Mansfield game as three points from draws against Barrow, Forest Green Rovers and Saturday’s visitors Stockport County were all they had to show from the next six games.  By the time the club began its recovery with a 4-1 victory at Fleetwood, in what was arguably the biggest shock of the whole Conference Premier season, Newport were already in such dire straits that, rather than trying to avoid a season long relegation battle, they were just simply focused on trying to stay in the relegation fight. 

The table below compares Newport’s results up to and including the Mansfield game in 2011 with the results achieved so far this season:

Date	Newport County 2011	Date	Newport County 2012
13-Aug-11	2-3 (A) v Kettering Town	11-Aug-12	4-3 (A) v Mansfield Town
16-Aug-11	4-0 (H) v Hayes & Yeading Utd	14-Aug-12	4-0 (H) v Nuneaton Town
20-Aug-11	0-0 (H) v Grimsby Town	18-Aug-12	2-1 (H) v Lincoln City
23-Aug-11	0-0 (A) v Ebbsfleet United	25-Aug-12	2-1 (A) v Braintree Town
27-Aug-11	1-2 (A) v Telford United	28-Aug-12	2-0 (H) v Hereford United
29-Aug-11	1-3 (H) v Kidderminster	1-Sep-12	0-2 (A) v Wrexham
3-Sep-11	0-1 (H) v Cambridge United	4-Sep-12	1-2 (A) v Dartford
10-Sep-11	0-5 (A) v Mansfield Town	8-Sep-12	(H) v Stockport County

Stockport County Overview

One of the biggest problems that Stockport encountered in their first season outside league football since 1904-05 was the lack of a regular marksman.  Whilst an impressive 16 players got on the scoresheet at some point during the season, their top goalscorers Tom Elliott and Danny Rowe, both of whom scored against County last season, only managed eight goals apiece. 

This statistic probably explains why one player is no longer with the Hatters, with changes clearly needing to be made as Elliott transferred to Cambridge United for an undisclosed fee in the summer.  Danny Rowe, however, was a loan player who has returned to County until January 2013.  Whilst  a new set of forwards have been moderately successful in answering the charge to score more goals, with County bagging three on Tuesday evening against Macclesfield and finding the net in each of their last four games, the defence has been leaking them in at least equal measure, with eight goals being conceded in the last four games.  This does not bode well for the Hatters as they come up against what many expect to be one of the most potent strike forces in the division this season.

Date	Stockport County
11-Aug-12	1-0 (H) v Alfreton Town
14-Aug-12	2-1 (A) v Grimsby Town
18-Aug-12	0-1 (A) v Tamworth
25-Aug-12	1-2 (H) v Gateshead
27-Aug-12	2-2 (A) v Telford United
1-Sep-12	1-1 (H) v Cambridge United
4-Sep-12	3-4 (H) v Macclesfield Town

Indeed, after an extremely positive start in which Stockport were one of only two teams who recorded back to back wins in the opening two games of the season, the other being Newport County, things have started to go wrong.  The Hatters, in a sequence of results that is eerily reminiscent of Newport last season, have now only picked up two points from the last five games despite having only met Grimsby of those sides who were tipped to be vying for promotion at the start of the season.  This will be viewed by Director of Football and Stockport legend Jim Gannon as somewhat disappointing, given that the club had been taking steps to strengthen and improve the squad even before the end of last season in the hope of making a concerted challenge for promotion back to the Football League this season.

Given the current losing streaks of both clubs, Gannon will be impressing on his players the importance of not conceding an early goal on Saturday.  Whilst Newport may have lost their previous two matches, confidence would quickly return to their side should they get ahead, whereas Stockport’s confidence is currently at a much lower ebb.  Should the Hatters be able to prevent the home side from being able to open them up with their intricate passing game, and thus begin to frustrate both the players and the home fans, Stockport may then be in with a realistic chance of snatching a draw, or even catching the home side on a counter attack.  However, recent defensive performances suggest that it will be a tough afternoon for the visitors.

Previous Encounters 

Until last season, Newport County had not met Stockport County in the league since the former club reformed in 1989 and, as a consequence, the only previous encounters took place last season.

20/09/2011	Newport County	1	1	Stockport County	1,205	D. Rose
11/02/2012	Stockport County	2	2	Newport County	3,565	A. Sandell	J. Harris

The first game, a 1-1 draw at Spytty Park, took place just 10 days after the Mansfield defeat described above and, depending upon perspective, could have been viewed by the Welsh club as either positive or negative.  The result was positive in the sense  that it ended a five match losing streak that had seen the Exiles tumble into the relegation zone.  The negatives though were that it was County’s eighth consecutive game without a win after a late Tom Elliott header cancelled out a 30th minute Danny Rose strike that had for so long looked likely to seal three points for the home side.  Whilst the draw left Newport floundering at the foot of the table, it was another valuable point for the mid table Hatters as they sought to recover from relegation and the financial crisis that had been threatening to destroy the club.

By the time of the reverse fixture in February, however, both clubs were firmly embroiled in the relegation battle.  The Welsh side were still in the bottom four, although a scoreless home draw with Forest Green on the quagmire at Spytty and a stunning late turnaround against Gateshead, thanks to late strikes from Sam Foley and Jake Harris, had given cause for hope.  Stockport were sitting precariously just above the relegation zone but with the knowledge that they had played more games than any of their rivals.

In a game which the home side largely controlled after the now departed striker Danny Rowe had settled their nerves with an opening 7th minute strike.  After Newport had got themselves back into the game shortly after half time through attacking full back Andy Sandell, they then compounded their own problems as their goalscorer, who was playing on the left of midfield that day, was sent off.  Given the sheer volume of red cards that Newport received during the 2011-12 season, especially away from home, this was something of a typical state of affairs for the Welsh side.  They were immediately punished for their indiscretion when Danny Rowe scored both Stockport and his second of the match with a splendid free kick.  However, in direct contrast to the first game, it was Newport who this time rescued a point late in the game when Jake Harris, who was gaining a reputation as a super sub, found an equaliser with four minutes remaining.

Although Stockport’s start has been very similar to the one they made last year, they will fancy their chances of coming away with something from Rodney Parade, especially if they can prevent Newport from getting off to another of their blistering starts.  This said though, the guile and quality of star striker Aaron O’Connor, coupled by the backing of a vociferous home crowd in close proximity to the pitch should be enough to see the Exiles get back to winning ways.

Forecast

Newport County 3 Stockport County 1

Harris Strikes Again In Another Late Show

   Stockport County 2 Newport County 2

                  Conference Premier

             Saturday, 11 February 2012

               Edgeley Park, Stockport
Despite the very real possibility of a trip to Wembley in the FA Trophy after the spectacular 4-0 demolition of Carshalton Athletic in midweek, Newport County were well aware that the most important match of the week, and quite possibly of the season, was the weekend relegation encounter against Stockport County at Edgeley Park.

Whilst the two teams came into the game in totally contrasting moods, this owed more to transfer activity than it did to recent form on the field, as both clubs having been showing evidence in recent weeks that they have sufficient quality to survive the drop.  On the pitch Newport, in addition to making the quarter finals of the FA Trophy, have also drawn at home to Forest Green Rovers and beaten Gateshead at the International Stadium after two late goals from Sam Foley and Jake Harris gave The Exiles an unlikely 3-2 victory.  Stockport have also shown similar signs of improvement with a 2-1 victory over high flying Kidderminster in their last league outing following on from draws against Telford and Braintree Town. 

The difference is that Newport County, after signing the likes of Lee Minshull, Ryan Charles and Andy Sandell, in addition to discovering what may be a special goalscoring talent in Jake Harris, have made themselves into a stronger, quicker outfit that is far more suited to Conference football than the side that entered into the January transfer window.  In contrast, Stockport have lost 4 of the 16 man squad that featured in the New Year’s Day victory against Barrow after manager Jim Gannon acknowledged that trimming the wage bill and securing the long term future of the club was more important than ensuring Conference survival.  Consequently, locally born goalkeeper Matt Glennon was released by the club on 31 January to the disappointment of many County fans, whilst former Irish under 19 international Sam Sheridan was sent out on a month’s loan to Southport, despite having made 20 appearances for Stockport.  Mark Lynch, Ryan McCann, John Miles, Chris Blackburn and Jon Routledge also left the club in January, leaving Jim Gannon with a smaller squad and perhaps a bit less quality than he had at the start of January.

As if the departure of seven players within a month was not enough, Lord Snape, the Stockport chairman, was forced to announce that Stockport would continue playing football in their home town.  This was because of the suggestion that Sale Sharks, a rugby club who effectively own Edgeley Park, are intending to move back to Salford, a decision that would force the departure of Stockport also. 

Despite these problems, the evidence of the first 30 minutes of the game would have suggested to neutral observers that it was Newport that had lost important players rather than Stockport.  One of the problems for the visitors was the change of personnel, with Ryan Charles returning after his suspension to replace Buchanan, who had scored twice in his previous two outings,  Jake Harris being left on the bench again despite having scored four times in his previous 100 minutes or so of football and Yakubu still suspended after his sending off against Forest Green.

The home side, after taking advantage of some poor away defending to net in the 8th minute through the first of two Danny Rowe goals, were able to dominate proceedings as Newport gave the ball away too easily, and Stockport might well have had more goals as the visitors struggled to deal with balls being played over the top of the defence.  However, despite creating a number of promising situations, Stockport were unable to get the crucial second goal and they were punished for this shortly after half time as Adam Sandell thundered home from 25 yards to add to his already blossoming reputation.

Much of the press coverage has claimed that Sandell turned from hero to villain in the 57th minute, as the left sided midfield was given a straight red card.  It was the 7th red card that Newport have received this season and therefore would appear to be an issue of discipline that desperately needs addressing.  However, more than one of the red card decisions have been extremely debatable and Sandell can consider himself extremely unlucky to receive a straight red for Referee Bond must have assumed was an elbow, though some elements of the press were suggesting that foul and abusive language was also involved.

As occurred after the sending off of Ryan Charles at Luton, Newport fell behind almost immediately after the sending off, as Danny Rowe claimed his second of the game with a free kick from the edge of the area.  This seemed to have cost Newport the match and is an issue that Justin Edinburgh will have to address.  If Newport are to successfully negotiate their way out of the relegation minefield, concentration is required for the full 90 minutes and focus must be maintained even in the midst of frustration and anger.

What will have pleased the manager though, is the way that the club have started to fight in recent games.  Seven days ago the Gateshead game appear to be lost as County went 2-0 down and yet they fought back to claim a critical win.  In similarly adverse conditions at Edgeley Park, they did it again.  On both occasions the hero was Jake Harris, a 21 year old striker who was signed from Weston-super-Mare in June last year. 

 

 

Jake Harris (photo courtesy of Sam Shingler) has been a revelation in his substitution appearances for County this season, scoring late winners at Worksop and Gateshead, and now getting a crucial late equaliser at Stockport County.

 

 

Despite having elected to change the forward line for this crucial encounter, Justin Edinburgh left Harris on the bench again.  However, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the manager to keep the Englishman out of the team and Harris is highly likely to feature again in some capacity for another critical match against Bath at Spytty Park on Tuesday.

	Conference Premier (Bottom)	Pl	D	Pts
16	Lincoln City	31	-14	30
17	Stockport County	33	-18	29
18	Darlington	31	-7	28
19	AFC Telford	31	-16	28
20	Kettering Town	31	-36	28
21	Newport County	30	-9	27
22	Alfreton Town	31	-29	25
23	Hayes & Yeading	31	-24	24
24	Bath City	30	-33	18

The draw was of much more value to Newport than it was to Stockport, as could be gauged by the reaction of the fans at the full time whistle.  Newport, as the table above shows, are within a point of moving out of the bottom 4 and they have a game in hand on all the teams around them.  With a home game against Bath City coming up on Tuesday night, weather permitting, there is real expectation that the club will move out of the relegation zone and survive.

Stockport County, on the other hand, will feel that this was a game that they should have won.  Although the club have moved up a couple of places to 17th in the league, they are only two points away from the drop zone, clubs beneath them all have have a couple of games in hand, and some key players are no longer with the club.  However, this result does represent a fourth consecutive league game without defeat and Stockport will be fully aware that the financial plight of both Darlington and Kettering is considerably worse than their own.  It may just be that this will be the difference between survival and relegation.