Swindon Town suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat at Rodney Parade, as despite battling hard with ten men following the early dismissal of Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and late rally, the deficit proved a little too much for Jody Morris’ side to overcome in his first game as Head Coach.
The new man in the Robins hotseat included deadline day signing Dylan Kadji in his starting eleven, with Jake Cain handed a midfield role alongside Jonny Williams.
There was also another starting berth for Hepburn-Murphy, who took his place as part of an attacking three with Jacob Wakeling and Charlie Austin.
A rather cagey start to the game saw both sides looking to get a foothold in the tie early on, and the first effort on goal was registered after only a minute on the clock, as Priestley Farquharson met a deep cross from the right with his head inside the box, but his effort lacked power and direction and Sol Brynn gathered.
Town produced their first on eight-minutes, as good wing play from Rushian Hepburn-Murphy on the left saw him trick his way into the box, but after his initial strike at goal was blocked, Charlie Austin’s shot on the rebound was deflected over.
Then a flash point in the game on 13-minutes as Jody Morris was dealt a huge blow.
A tussle between Hepburn-Murphy and Cameron Norman on the near touchline resulted in the Town midfielder reacting with a push, and with tempers boiling over, referee Neil Hair reached into his pocket and showed him a straight red.
With Town forced to make some unplanned adjustments, Newport looked to make their numerical advantage count with three quick fire efforts as we hit the 20-minute mark.
Adam Lewis sent a first-time half-volley into the side netting after another dangerous cross from Norman on the right, before the latter tested the positioning of Sol Brynn three minutes later with a low strike on the edge of the Swindon area.
On 25-minutes, Norman turned provider once again to cross for Harry Charsley, but he couldn’t get over the ball and sent his header way off target.
Three minutes later, Town responded with a chance of their own, as Jonny Williams took a quick free-kick halfway inside The Exiles half, knocking the ball short to Jake Cain, who in turn whipped a dangerous cross into the box from the left to the far post, which was narrowly missed by the onrushing Frazer Blake-Tracy.
Then, on 30-minutes and with Newport continuing to press, Ciaran Brennan was forced to make a last-ditch sliding block to repel a close range strike from Charsley, who found himself unmarked in the Town area.
Only two yellow cards to Priestley Farquharson and Dylan Kadji followed in the remainder of a hotly contested half, as both sides were forced to settle for a goalless draw at the break.
The second half started slowly, with only a tame Aaron Lewis header to note five minutes into the restart, as he met a high cross from the far right, but he couldn’t generate any power on his chance and it was another easy one for Brynn between the sticks.
Then, on 54-minutes, the deadlock was broken with the home side taking the lead. Adam Lewis produced a pinpoint cross from the left to the far post, and there was Cameron Norman to nod the ball past Sol Brynn, giving the Town stopper no chance.
Jody Morris shuffled the pack on 58-minutes, bringing on Ronan Darcy and Tom Clayton for Jonny Williams and Jacob Wakeling, as Town looked to get a foothold back in the tie, with Luke Jephcott coming on for debutant Dylan Kadji shortly after.
There was a lull in clear-cut opportunities for a while after that until we reached 78 minutes, when a clever pass from County substitute Nathan Moriah-Welsh set Aaron Lewis in the clear, and with just Brynn to beat, he calmly laid the ball to his right for another Exiles sub, Calum Kavanagh, to tap home into an empty net, leaving Town with a mountain to climb.
On 85-minutes, Jody Morris’ side created their first chance on target, as Luke Jephcott collected the ball well inside the box and turned nicely, before unleashing a low shot at goal, but Nick Townsend did well to save down low to his right.
With the clock ticking, striker Tomi Adeloye was brought on in place of Charlie Austin on 90-minutes, and reduced the arrears with pretty much his first touch, controlling a cross from the left and placing the ball confidently into the bottom right hand corner.
That wasn’t the end of the action though, and with Town’s tails up and looking for that all important equaliser, County broke at the other end with Omar Bogle beating Brynn but not the left hand post after finding space in the box.
But 2-1 is how it stayed with the hosts claiming the spoils on a frustrating afternoon for Jody Morris in his first game in charge.
MATCH INFORMATION:
Newport County Line-up: 3-5-2
30. Nick Townsend (GK) – 28. Mickey Demetriou ©, 6. Priestley Farquharson, 5. James Clarke, 20. Harry Charsley (22. Nathan Moriah-Welsh 70mins), 17. Scot Bennett, 2. Cameron Norman, 14. Aaron Lewis, 27. Adam Lewis (9. Omar Bogle 85mins), 19. Charlie McNeill (16. Calum Kavanagh 70mins), 10. Offrande Zanzala (29. Will Evans 80mins).
Subs not used: 1. Joe Day (GK) – 18. Matthew Baker, 11. James White.
Scorers: Norman 54, Kavanagh 78
Yellow Cards: 5. Clarke 16mins, 6. Farquharson 38mins, 2. Norman 60mins, 30. Townsend 90+4mins
Red Cards: None
Swindon Town Line-up: 4-3-3
1. Sol Brynn (GK) – 3. Ellis Iandolo, 20. Frazer Blake-Tracy, 34. Ciaran Brennan, 2. Remeao Hutton, 8. Jonny Williams (10. Ronan Darcy 59mins), 21. Dylan Kadji (15. Luke Jephcott 68mins), 16. Jake Cain, 11. Charlie Austin © (9. Tomi Adeloye 90mins), 24. Jacob Wakeling (4. Tom Clayton 59mins), 19. Rushian Hepburn-Murphy.
Subs not used: 41. Jack Copland (GK) – 31. Harrison Minturn, 17. Ricky Aguiar.
Scorers: Adeloye 90+1
Yellow Cards: 21. Kadji 42mins.
Red Cards: 19. Hepburn-Murphy 15mins
HT: 0-0
Referee: Neil Hair
Assistant Referees: Mark Derrien & Samuel Fudge
Fourth Official: Steve Durnell
Attendance: 4,757 (1,000 Town fans)
