Newport 2-1 Barrow review

 A return of fans and a good return for Dom Telford who's 2 goals helped Newport County take all 3 points at a cold Rodney Parade which welcomed back the amber army after nearly a month and a half behind closed doors due to welsh government restrictions. 

There were 3 changes for County this afternoon as we seen Dom Telford, Finn Azaz and James Clarke all come in for Alex Fisher, Josh Pask and Robbie Willmott.

Newport started like a house on fire with the 1st goal coming just under 90 seconds in as Dom Telford got his 19 goal of the season after he got his head on the end of a Cameron Norman cross which is remarkable considering he was the smallest player on the pitch. 

Dom Telford broke the 20 goal barrier in the 12th minute with a fantastic curling goal into the top left hand corner which Paul Farman had no chance in saving. He is the 1st County player to get 20 league goals since John Aldridge back in the 80's.  

County started off the better team with lots of pressure being applied to the struggling Barrow defence. We've been fast starters as of late with 2 goals in the opening 10 mins in the last 4 games which is something that has helped us most importantly settle into the game. 

Being 2-0 down woke Barrow up as they grew into the 1st half as it went on forcing a few good saves from Nick Townsend. The Keeper showed why he has taken the GK spot of County Icon Joe Day. 

In the 1st half County showed a real clinical side to their game with 66% shots to shots on goal ratio and a 50% shots on target to goal ratio. Pretty impressive is you ask me. 

In the 2nd half Barrow were out early im sure their manager Mark Cooper had a few words to say to them at half time. He also made a change as Connor Brown came on for Matty Platt. It looked like what ever he said worked as Barrow started the 2nd half a lot better than they had in the 1st half. 

63 minutes in and they got a goal back after a strange moment from Mickey Demetriou who put the ball into his own net.

We seen the introduction of new signing Rob Street in the 76th minute as he came on for CBR. He  did ok for me he held the ball up really well which let our creative players such as Oli Cooper to come into the game more.    

Barrow pushed for an equalizer but County stayed strong and shown why they have improved defencively as of late.I think the missing Josh Pask was a huge blow for us. James Rowberry confirmed that it was a 'freak injury' and Pask will have a scan on his knee on Monday. If its serious then we might dip into the transfer window and look to maybe get another Center back in. Also Dom Telford is all but staying this window.

An in depth breakdown of the game is coming tomorrow on look back in amber at 3pm on Newport City Radio with me, Stephen and Lamsie. Also don't forget to follow us on twitter @Absoutecounty and on Instagram @absolutely_county 

 

Newport put the Salford result behind them emphatically

 Newport county and Harrogate Town went to battle on a cold and empty Rodney Parade in a rather strange kick off time of 12:30 to follow UEFA streaming rules. A good performance was needed after the ludicrous display last weekend against Salford City at an empty Rodney Parade.

There was no manager James Rowberry on the touchline today due to covid as assistant Wayne Hatswell was the main man on the side for us this afternoon.

County made 2 changes going into the game with Scott Bennett replacing Robbie Willmott and new signing Josh Pask coming into the team for his debut for James Clarke. 

Newport started a little slowly as Harrogate had the early possession but with one of our 1st attacks of the game Dom Telford was bundled over in the box and the referee gave a penalty. Without the normal penalty taker Matty Dolan on the pitch responsibility fell to the Captain Mickey Demetriou who just about managed to get it in even though Harrogate keeper Mark Oxley guessed the right way. 

Courtney Baker-Richardson, who going into the game was on a 4 game goal drought had one great chance as he was slid in by Cooper but the Oxley made himself look as big as he could which denied CBR.

Newport had chance after chance in the 1st half but the keeper Oxley was equal to a lot of it. Nick Townsend justified his selection by making a few wonderful saves when the game was only 1-0. 

Dom Telford who else got county's 2nd after he had a shot which managed to find its way to slide past Oxley who made a bit of a mess of it but Telford will claim it as his to put us 2 goals to the good just before half time. 

Just after the half time break Dom Telford got his 2nd of the afternoon as he got the ball onto his deadly left foot and fired it past Oxley in the Harrogate goal. 

No less than about 6 mins later we had a 4th as CBR finally broken his drought in front of goal. He went around Oxley and lifted the ball over the Harrogate defenders who were on the goal line to make it 4-0. 

We then seen a debut for new signing James Waite who joined the club in the week on an 18 month contract from Penybont. He did quite well when he came on to the pitch and the forwards should have done better with some of the passes he put through for them.

From there the game died out as there wasn't much to shout about. Harrogate enjoyed a spell of possession but they couldn't find an opening. 

I thought Josh Pask was outstanding on his debut and showed that he has played at a higher level. I think he could be a key bit of business done by James Rowberry and sporting director Darren Kelly.

It ended 4-0 to the County and for the 1st time in 10 games we kept a clean sheet which im sure will give the defense a lot of confidence.     

The result moves us up to 5th in the live table before the 3 o' clocker's got underway. An in depth breakdown of the game is coming tomorrow on look back in amber at 3pm on Newport City Radio with me, Stephen and Lamsie. Also don't forget to follow us on twitter @Absoutecounty and on Instagram @absolutely_county

Newport County v Harrogate Town Preview

 Harrogate Town are the latest team to come to a empty Rodney Parade as they entertain Newport County in an important sky bet league 2 fixture. 

Thankfully this will be the last game without fans as the welsh government announced today that fans will be allowed up to 500 tomorrow then there will be no restrictions on the amount of fans allowed into stadiums on the 21st of Jan next Friday so we'll have fans back ahead of a key month we have coming up in February. 

We'll start with the visitors tomorrow and that is Harrogate Town who are currently embarking on their 2nd season in the EFL and so far they have done ok for themselves. Last season they finished 17th in league 2 and so far this season they are 13th, only 5 points behind county in 7th. They have the longest serving manager in the EFL in Simon Weaver who has been in charge since 2009. 

Harrogate are very much like Newport in that they score a lot and they concede a fair few as well. So far this season they have scored 35 goals which is the 6th most in the league and 4 behind County. They have conceded 31 goals this season which the the 17th most and is only 3 less than Newport so expect lots of goals! 

In the reverse of this fixture earlier this season 4 first half goals, 2 for either side left both teams with a point. Before the game previous manager Michael Flynn had said that Harrogate forward Luke Armstrong was a target in the summer window. Armstrong showed us why he was a summer target as he got a goal and an assist. 

Newport County have managed to get 2 deals done this week as we've seen both Josh Pask and James Waite both coming in, Pask on loan and Waite on a permanent. Both players are available for selection but I don't think we will see Waite as he'll be low on fitness and match sharpness as the Cymru Premier has been suspended for about a month now. I think Pask will be on the bench personally. We could see him in the 2nd half but it depends on his sharpness as he hasn't played for a little while for parent side Coventry City.

Newport will hope to have captain Matty Dolan back for selection and if he is then I think he starts and we play with a back 3 which is the best system that we play in my opinion. I also think we should see the return of Joe Day in goal for the port in stead of Nick Townsend. I think we will win the game 2-1. This is my personal opinion let me know what you think in the comments below! Also don't forget to follow us on twitter @Absoutecounty and on Instagram @absolutely_county 

   

welcome Josh Pask

 This evening it was announced that our 1st signing of the January window is Josh Pask on loan from Coventry City. Josh is a 24 year old center back who can also play at right back or wing back so it looks like we have some cover for James Clarke. 

Josh started his career off at West ham having come through their academy. He started their Europa League 3rd qualifying round 2nd leg game against Astra Giurgiu of Romainia in 2015. He has also featured on the bench in the pemier league for the hammers but didn't make his debut in that league. 

He has been out on loan to Dagenham and Redbridge back in 2015 when they were still in the EFL and he has also been on loan to Gillingham in 2016. He made his move to Coventry in 2019 on a free. In his 1st season at the club he helped them achieve promotion. Lat season in the Championship he made  17 apparences with 6 starts. His only apperance this season for coventry came in the EFL cup when his side got knocked out by Northampton. 

I think this will be a great signing as he offers cover at right center back which is something we havent had all season and is still young enough to develop his game. 

Welcome Josh   

Weekly winter transfer update 1

 We are a little over a week into the January transfer window and already a lot has happened for Newport County. We have seen 3 departures in the past week with another one announced today albeit on loan.

We'll start with the player who left 1st and that was Ed Upson. Last Tuesday it was announced that one of Michael Flynn's final signings Ed Upson had signed for Stevenage. In his Friday press conference manager James Rowberry stated that Upson wanted to be closer to home with him having a young family. That is understandable and makes sense for all parties involved. It was reported that Upson was one of the top earners at Newport so it'll be good to get his wages off the books to hopefully reinvest in other players in this window. Also it's good for Stevenage as they'll be getting an experienced midfielder to help them in their relegation scrap they're evolved in. He rarely featured under Rowberry only featuring 5 times under the new management. 4 times in the league and once in the Papa Johns. 

The next player announced that had left was Jordan Greenidge. I was a little surprised about this one personally because he is a young player who has time to develop. He impressed in pre season when he was on trial which led to him be rewarded with a contract. He did predominantly feature in the development squad but when he did play in the 1st team he looked liked a good player. He scored the opener in the 4-3 defeat by Arsenal in the Papa Johns trophy and on that night he was very lively. I think he wants regular 1st team football and I don't think we can offer him that at Newport County. Again Manager James Rowberry has said Jordan will announce something in his own time. 

The next player that had left was Jermaine Hylton. This came as no surprise if you read one of my previous posts. The news 1st broke live on Look Back In Amber. The latest episode is available now FYI. He last featured in the Papa Johns game against Swindon about 2 months ago. I didn't know where he'd fit in as he is usually a left winger and under both Flynn and Rowberry we don't play with wingers. I'm sure he is a decent player but he is now free to play regular footy where ever he wants. 

The latest player that had been announced to have left is youngster Lewy Twamley. Don't worry he hasn't been sold he has been sent out on loan to non league Salisbury. This for me is a good move for him as he gets regular 1st team football which will be key for his development. I think he can be a key player for us in the near future. His g/a last season was absolutely reticulated and he ended up getting a call up to the Wales u19 squad. He will continue to train with the Newport County squad but will play for Salisbury. 

In terms on In comings it's been a slow week but James Rowberry is hopeful to have 2 new players available for this weekend's home game against Harrogate Town. So hopefully some good news shall be coming this week regarding incomings.             

What do you think will happen in the next week of the transfer window? Let me know down below in the comments and as ever don't forget to follow us on twitter @Absoutecounty and on Instagram @absolutely_county      

  

Newport outclassed by the team owned by the class of 92

 Newport went into this game in a rather strange situation as the game against Salford was played behind closed doors. Newport made only the 2 changes for the game as the returning Mickey Demetriou and Liverpool loanee Jake Cain coming into the side for Matty Dolan and Scot Bennett. The game also seen the return of both Liam Shephard and Tom King

In the first half it started quietly with both teams settling into the game and probably getting used to having no fans which I must say was really weird.    

Newport huffed and puffed for most of the 1st half with Cooper, Telford and Baker-Richardson all seeing shots go wide or over Tom King's goal. 

Former County right wing back Liam Shephard had to go off injured 30 mins into his Rodney Parade return. He didn't really do much down the right hand side for me when he was on the pitch and kept looking to swap positions with Theo Vasssell. The game was being played in front of a documentary filmer for the Salford documentary which usually is on Sky Sports in December each year 

In the 35th minute Nick Townsend kept the scoreline level after a wonderful save denying Matty Lund who looked the standout player for Salford and you could see that he's played at a higher level.

Just before the break County went behind to a deflected goal which eventually went down as a Finn Azaz own goal. That no doubt changed what manager James Rowberry said to his players at half time.

Newport looked to start the 2nd half better than the ended the 1st but not long after the 2nd half started Salford went 2 in front as Brandon Thomas-Asante waved his way through the county defense and slotted home past Nick Townsend who was given his chance in goal for the 2nd consecutive week following regular no.1 Joe Day picking up covid-19.

After Salford's 2nd Rowberry decided it was time for a change as we seen Ryan Haynes come on for Aaron Lewis. Shortly after a goal nearly came as Jake Cain fired just wide of the Salford net. 

Rowberry felt as if more changes were needed as we seen Lewis Collins and Scot Bennett come on for Finn Azaz and Jake Cain. The game died out from there and there wasn't such quality on show from either team. You could see why Salford have such a good record when it comes to goals conceded and clean sheets. I thought they were very solid and very hard to break down at times. 

One of the very few benefits to playing behind closed doors is you can hear the manager and coaching staff on the sidelines. Rowberry was very vocal especially to Lewis Collins at one point in the 2nd half. 

The result leaves county in 7th with the 2 teams below them playing in the Fa cup and Papa Johns trophy respectively. A breakdown of the game is coming tomorrow on look back in amber at 3pm on Newport City Radio with me, Stephen and Lamsie. Also don't forget to follow us on twitter @Absoutecounty and on Instagram @absolutely_county     

 

Newport County v Salford City preview

Newport County entertain Salford city tomorrow in what will be very strange circumstances. Tomorrows game will be behind closed doors as per the welsh governments rules as they try to tackle omicron variant of covid-19. From the sounds of it tomorrow's game will be the only game behind closed doors which is good news all around. 

County go into the game after a pretty hectic week in the transfer window which has seen Ed Upson move to Stevenage and Jordan Greenidge be released from his contract. Listening to James Rowberry in his pre match press conference that won't be the only outgoings in this window. 

It's felt like an eternity since our last home game which was the come from behind win against Port Vale on the 11th of December. That's mainly due to the covid outbreak not just at the club but in the whole of league 2 but things look like they'll be getting back to normal with the FA cup and 1 game in the papa johns knockout stages causing the postponements this weekend in the league. 

Salford are a pretty unique club in the sense that they are owned by the class of 92. It'll be interesting to see if any of them will be at Rodney Parade. As there is no live premier league game on sky this weekend and Man United don't play until Monday I think we might see Gary Nevile at the Parade tomorrow. The game will also see Tom King and Liam Sheppard return to their former home. King had 2 years here and Sheppard was here for just last season. 

This season Salford lay 16th in league 2 which isn't where they wanna be when you consider how much they spend each season. If you look at their away form this season then they are 22nd only picking up 7 points on their travels this season. They beat us 3-0 earlier in the season at the peninsula stadium which was the end of one of the worst weeks in our recent history as we also lost 8-0 to Southampton. Salford have the 3rd best defensive record this season only conceding 21 goals so far this season. They don't score too many though. They've only scored 24 goals this season which is the 16th most scored in the league. They've also kept 9 clean sheets so far this season. The 4th best in the league so I think it will be a close game.

Newport will be boosted by the return of both keeper Joe Day and Mickey Demetriou who for me both start. Newport will be back to full strength after the Covid outbreak at the club. My only concern is how the players will perform without a crowd but they should be experienced enough to deal without the fans tomorrow at Rodney Parade. 

 I think we will win 2-1 Tomorrow with goals coming from Telford and Azaz. This is my personal opinion let me know what you think in the comments below! Also don't forget to follow us on twitter @Absoutecounty and on Instagram @absolutely_county               

5 welsh players to look out for in 2022

 With potentially a World Cup to look forward to in the end of the year if we manage to get through the play offs in march there will be a number of players who will be looking to stake a claim in the up coming year and there will be a number of players looking to have a breakthrough year. We are not just absolutely county here we are also absolutely cymru too.

Zac Williams 

Michael 'Zac' Williams is a 17 year old who is impressing week in week out in a struggling crewe side who currently see themselves 23rd and in the relegation zone. Williams has been described as a shining light after his league debut back on the 12th of November against Bolton. He plays as a left sided center back in a back 3 along side fellow Welshman Billy Sass-Davies. Crewe have an impressive recent history of developing young players. Recently we've seen the likes of Perry Ng now at Cardiff, Harry Pickering now at Blackburn and Charlie Kirk now at Charlton all coming through the Crewe system in the past few years. Even if Crewe can't get out of there current situation then m sure a load of premier league teams will be sniffing around the young star.     

Chem Campbell

The 19 year old attacking midfielder looks a real hot prospect. He has already made his debut in the league cup back in 2019 at the age of 16 making him the 2nd youngest player to play Wolves. Born in Birmingham Chem is eligible for Wales, England and Jamaica but he has played for Wales' U17 so hopefully he chooses Cymru for his international career. He has been on the fringes of the 1st team this season. He's been on the bench 5 times this season in the premier league for wolves also he has featured in all 3 of their academy games in the Papa Johns Trophy as wolves got knocked out in the group stage. Hopefully the 3rd round of the Fa cup will see him get some game time as wolves take on Sheffield United if not I'd like to see him go out on loan to get some regular 1st team football.  

Ryan Astley

Ryan is a player who I believe has a huge future in the world of football and I mentioned him as someone who I'd like Newport County sign in this transfer window and if we did then that will be one hell of a signing. Ryan as mentioned in my previous post is a right sided center back for Everton who can also play at right full back. Everton's academy manage David Unsworth describes Astley as the "most consistent, outstanding player, a consummate professional and pleasure to work with". In the 2020-21 season Astley was named Everton's Under-23 Player of the Season. He was named on the bench last season in Everton's victory over Southampton. He has 2 caps for Wales' U21s with another 18 apps coming from both the U17 and U19 teams. He'll be looking to make the next step into first team football and hopefully that' at Newport County  

Harry Jewitt-White

Jewitt-White is probably the most obscure name on this list but he arguably has the biggest future of anyone mentioned in this post. The 17 year old Portsmouth midfielder has had interest from likes of Manchester United recently so you can see the potential he has. In September he made his Wales U18 debut in a friendly against England. He is training with the Pompey 1st team at the age of 17 which is really impressive and as well he has played in 2 of Pompey's Papa Johns trophy games and hopefully he'll make that a 3rd appearance in the competition on Friday as they take on Exeter. He has been on the bench a number of times in the league this season but is yet to make his league debut. Pompey head coach Danny Cowley thought that Jewitt-White’s performance against Crystal Palace U23 in the Papa Johns was that of someone way beyond his years. I think he has a big future and a future Wales international for sure 

Jordan James

For me Jordan James has the biggest future out of everyone on this lift. He is a 17 year old centre midfielder at Birmingham. Very similar to Jude Bellingham who burst on the scene at Birmingham at the age of 17 and who is currently plays for Borussia Dortmund out in Germany. He made his 1st team debut coming on in the 85th minute of a 3-0 win over Bristol City. He made a few appearances off the bench before he made his 1st start on the 27th of November due to suspensions to both Ryan Woods and Gary Gardner. James set up Lukas Jutkiewicz for the winner as Birmingham beat Blackpool 1-0. He was rewarded the very same day as it was announced that he signed his 1st pro contract with the club. Since then he has he hasn't looked back as he's started all 4 games since.  He has only made 1 appearance for wales' youth teams and that was for the U18 back in September but im confident he will be in the U21 squad in the next International break. Blues boss Lee Bowyer has said that "I like what I see with Jordan, he has a lot of potential".

 These are the 5 players I think you should look out for in 2022. Have I missed anyone? Let me know what you in the comments below! Also don't forget to follow us on twitter @Absoutecounty and on Instagram @absolutely_county  

What we should do in the January tranfer window

 The New year brings many things, New starts maybe a new gym membership to shift those Christmas pounds but to us football fans the new year brings the January Transfer window and our manager James Rowberry has mentioned about the fact that he would like to do some dealings this window I wanted to take a look some players I think we should take a look at signing. It's Important to note that we have 1 loan spot still available. It looks like it could potentially be a difficult month for the club with the news that spectators in wales will be banned due to rising fears over the omicron covid variant so using that loan could be key 

OUT: 

Jermaine Hylton 

When Jermaine Hylton was announced as a Newport County player in the summer I was left confused as to where he'd fit in as he predominantly plays as a winger and we usually play with 2 strikers in the Flynn era. Under Rowberry he has only featured once and that was in the Papa Johns trophy defeat to Swindon back in the start of November. He hasn't featured in the league since our 2-1 defeat away to Barrow on the 24th of September. I think we should look to get something for him maybe even compensation but if a club can't be found then I think we should do the same as Christopher Missilou and part ways via termination of his contract by mutual consent.

Timmy Abraham        

The Brother of England and Roma player Tammy Abraham, Timmy came into the club on loan from Fulham with not the best scoring record where ever he been in his career and that's continued at the port. He has 3 goals so far this season all of those have come in different cups. He scored the winner back in August as we knocked Ipswich Town out of the EFL cup and his other 2 have both come in the Papa Johns trophy as he scored past his old side Plymouth and he got our 2nd in the 4-3 barnstormer against Arsenal's U21. He has made 12 appearances in the league this season with only the 3 starts.  Personally I think we should send him back to Fulham as that would be good for both party's and hopefully he can get regular 1st team football somewhere else. That would then free up another Loan spot which could be key this window.  

Aneurin Livermore (on loan) 

When Aneurin Livermore broke onto the scene in August with a star performance against Plymouth in the Papa Johns Trophy many fans thought he would be involved week in week out but that hasn't been the case he picked up an injury just after he started to make a run in the team and we haven't seen much of him since and with out current midfield trio of Oli Cooper Finn Azaz and Robbie Willmott it's hard to see where he'll fit in to that. For me I'd like to see him go and play in the Cymru Premier on loan for the rest of the season. It didn't do Mo Touray any harm when he went on loan to Barry a few years ago.

I personally don't think Dom Telford will leave the club this month also I don't think we'll lose our arguably Star midfielder in Oli Cooper this month either as I've talked about on look back in amber I believe former exile Scott Twine will end up at the Jacks and sort out there creativity issues. 

IN:

Ryan Astley 

For me we are a little short at the back and with no clean sheets in the past 10 games in all competitions plus we have conceded 32 goals in the league this season, only 5 teams have conceded more in the league this season. For me we need to freshen things up at the back and a name that we should look at is Ryan Astley at Everton. I hear he won't give you up or let you down but in all seriousness he looks like a real good player. He is a 20 year old wales U21 international who has came through Everton's youth system can play on the right in the back 3 or at right full back so he'd fit in our system very well. He has featured in Everton's match day squad last season in a 1-0 win for the Toffees against Southampton. He has also featured in all 3 of Everton's U21 games in the papa johns trophy in which he has an average Sofascore rating of 7.30 #notsponsored which is really impressive.    

Brandon Cooper 

A fans favorite from the 1st part of last season Brandon Cooper might be looking to go out on loan this window. Having recently signed a new contract at Swansea we won't be seeing him leave for a fee but his game time at the swans looks very limited as Joel Latibeaudiere, Ryan Bennett, Ben Cabango and Kyle Naughton look to be regularly in the mix for those 3 center back spots at Swansea. With the World Cup Play offs coming up in march Brandon will be looking to be in and around that Wales squad which he featured in September 2021. I think this is the most optimistic out of the names here I think we should sign but with our great relationship with Swansea and what he did with us last season he could see Newport as the best place for his development.

Louis Barry OR Thomas Dickson-Peters 

I think we should use up our loan spot on one of those 2 strikers as I think we don't have the best striker depth which could be key as we got a really tough fixture pileup after a few of our games was called off due to covid-19. This season if you take out Dom Telford's 16 and Courtney Baker-Richardson's 6 goals our other forwards have a combined 3 goals which in my opinion is really poor so this should be an area to look at in the window. I have named 2 strikers I think we should take a look at I'll start with Barry. His breakthrough moment came last January as a Covid hit Aston Villa side took on Liverpool in the 3rd round of the FA Cup and despite their 4-1 exit from the cup Barry took home a lot of the applause from the game. He is currently on loan at Ipswich in league 1 but from the rumors I've heard Villa are looking to send him to another team due to his lack of game tame at Portman Road. Villa should be Impressed with what we've done with Finn Azaz this season and at the recent open meeting Sporting Director Darren Kelly said that teams that we have players from this season have been so impressed with what we've done with their players they've offered us more players on loan. The other name I mentioned is 19 year old Thomas Dickson-Peters. He is probably a new name to many off you but he has been really impressive so far this season for Norwich's U23 in Premier League 2. He currently has 13 goals and 2 assists in the competition so far and would push the front 2 at the port at the moment for the starting spot up top. He is also a Former Scotland youth international  having played for their U18 and U17 teams. 

It's key to note we will not be seeing the return of Podge in January as James Rowberry stated on Look Back In Amber a few weeks ago .

This is my personal opinion let me know what you think in the comments below! Also don't forget to follow us on twitter @Absoutecounty and on Instagram @absolutely_county