County bludgeon their way to another draw
Report from Mark Vickery
Venue: Rodney Parade
Newport County 1 (Charsley 69)
AFC Wimbledon 1 (Al-Hamadi 5)
Attendance: 4,051
Match Rating: **
Form:
Newport County DWWDDWLLDD
AFC Wimbledon dWLddDDLLLL
PRE-MATCH THOUGHTS
Wimbledon had ambitions of a play-off challenge at Christmas but only one win since has set them back. They have experience in defence so key County are cute with their passes and turn them around
CONDITIONS
Cold, clear with slight breeze. Pitch in excellent condition and quick on top.
SUMMING UP OUR PERFORMANCE IN ONE STATEMENT
Flat disjointed first half, raised the bar following changes but never really kicked on after equalising
TURNING POINT
Early charitable Wimbledon goal gave them just the lift they needed.
THE MATCH
County retained the same starting line-up from Saturday and started with direct moves to test Wimbledon which were hopeful more than purposeful. Wimbledon stifled well offering energy and there was a warning on 2 minutes when Bogle lost possession cheaply just inside the County half. They switched play well left side with Chislett quick to get a pass into the feet of Currie and his cross invited Al-Hamadi to shoot from 12 yards but his effort drifted wide of the left post. County continued to be untidy with their approach play and were punished on 5 minutes when former Wales international Chris Gunter drove right side and lax marking allowed him to deliver a decent cross into the six yard box. County appeared to have plenty of defenders around the ball but Demetriou appeared to miss his header and Al-Hamadi unmarked blasted home from 10 yards. County upped their game with some forceful moves right side but the crosses into the area were hopeful and dealt with comfortably by Wimbledon centre backs Pearce and Pierre. Wimbledon worked hard to contain County moves and when they broke up play they shunted the ball long at every opportunity with Al-Hamadi continuing to cause problems with his robustness and pace. County created some better moves left side to gain penetration through the industry of Lewis but despite some decent crosses, there was not enough appetite in the air and County were also slow to the second ball. Wimbledon persisted with the tactic of breaking up play and looking for the turnover and another bright move on 18 minutes caught County napping and Farquharson caught Chislett late to get himself a booking. From the resultant free kick, Wimbledon won the first contact which went left side of the area but McAteer blasted wide and high of the left post from an acute angle. County won a couple of throws in right side of the area and they had a half chance on 28 minutes when a long throw by Demetriou into the six yard box was allowed to drop and Charsley hit a shot on the turn which went straight at the keeper. The game remained scrappy on times with Wimbledon dominating the aerial duals which was encouraged by County with them lazy with their approach play. On 35 minutes, County created a more cohesive move when forced Wimbledon to defend deep inside their own area and Moriah-Welsh reacted well edge of the area but his crisp snapshot was deflected over the bar. The game continued in the same vain as half time approached with County lacking sharpness with the ball at their feet and Wimbledon doing enough off the ball to unsettle or stifle them, with Al-Hamadi continuing to enjoy space and provide an outlet up front.
County offered some verve right side at the start of the second half with Norman coming into the game and they were rewarded with a couple of corners but Wimbledon remained resolute clearing well under pressure. County found some chinks of light in wide areas to deliver crosses but Wimbledon were able to block with Pierre getting in some important interventions. On 60 minutes, County won a corner left side which Moriah-Welsh whipped into the six yard box and Farquharson rose strongly but glanced wide of the right post. Wimbledon continued with their aggressive hard working with their alertness to the ball causing problems for County. On 62 minutes, Norman clashed late with Currie and was booked for preventing his run from deep. Moments later, roles were reversed when Norman made a well timed run right side and Currie was coaxed into a tackle from behind right side of the area which got him a yellow card. County made a triple substitution on 65 minutes with Evans and Kavanagh replacing Bogle and McNeil up top. There was another change to freshen up the midfield with Wildig on for Bennett. The tempo of the game picked up with County starting to stretch Wimbledon out of their comfort zone with Kavanagh and Evans sprightly but effective with their link play. On 69 minutes, County were level following a corner right side by Lewis which was messy but this time Charsley was quick to pounce poking a shot into the left corner from 8 yards. Wimbledon then had McAteer in the book for looked like dissent contesting a free kick awarded to County. On 75 minutes, there was a minor altercation as Wimbledon attacked right side and Lewis was forced into a late challenge to prevent a run by Gunter. Lewis was booked and then Woodyard got himself stupidly booked for pushing Lewis to coax a reaction whilst he was on the floor. County offered more threat through the middle following their changes and had a decent chance on 77 minutes when Moriah-Welsh anticipate a loose ball and penetrated and clipped a ball into Evans. He did well to win his header ahead of Pearce and Kavanagh ghosted into space just inside the area before striking a low shot from 14 yards which the keeper Tzanev parried away well left side. Wimbledon made a change on 77 minutes with Janneh coming on for Pearson. County huffed and puffed in the final stages and another change on 85 minutes saw Waite replace Moriah-Welsh and Rai come on for Charsley. On 90+3 minutes County had a half chance following a Demetriou long throw right side which Wimbledon struggled to clear effectively and some head tennis saw Farquharson have his header from 8 yard blocked. County forced some late pressure in injury time forcing Wimbledon deeper but they defended stoutly with County unable to force a save from the keeper. Wimbledon ran the clock down with a change on 90+5 minutes replacing centre backs with Nightingale on Pearce but a draw was a fair outcome.
Day (6) — had few saves to make or crosses to deal with, got rushed with some kicks, distribution was erratic and a little slow on times.
Norman (7) — quiet first half and struggled to get outside Currie, more assertive second half, competed well in their air and got into some good positions back post but not picked out
Aaron Lewis (7) — defended well and limited crosses, timed tackles and was bright coming forward. Needs to be more decisive to pick cross earlier as delaying allowed Wimbledon to recover.
Farquharson (6) — worked hard to contain Al-Hamadi and stifle. Didn’t have his own way in the air and was let down with passing errors, to head down going to short on times when long ball was on.
Demetriou (6) — running on empty by the end, forced back to defend runs and squashed threat well but forced very deep. had some difficult moments inside the box and weak header presented goal
Baker (7) — alert to runs, got to the ball and cleared early, dealt well tracking Chislett runs and squash enterprise left side. Held firm late on and gave little change.
Moriah-Welsh (6) — too passive first half, a yard off the ball and got turned back to defend. Did better second half picking up second ball quicker and worked some of the best moves through the middle
Bennett (5) — run of three tough games seemed to have caught up with him and seemed weary in mind and body. Won his headers but couldn’t assert any control and replaced early.
Charsley (7) — always looked the most likely to score, worked hard, put in fair quota of tackles and covered a lot of ground today. Got his reward reading the carnage inside in the area.
Bogle (5) — laboured about and when he had the ball County were most vulnerable with poor retention. Got bullied by the centre backs and should have been replaced at half time
McNeil (5) — made efforts to close down and unsettle defenders but given little quality to feed off. Frustrating game as when he did make some good runs, County lacked quality or vision to see them.
SWOT ANALYSIS (AFC Wimbledon)
Strengths — despite missing some key players, they showed a lot of spirit and worked hard collectively to deny County any rhythm attacking in transition.
Weaknesses — centre backs were slow when turned, played direct and hopeful chasing down lost causes. Had one shot on goal which went in.
Opportunities — never really changed tact, had a good shape defensively and used Al-Hamadi as an outlet to buy rest time and work moves
Threats — Al-Hamadi worked tirelessly off the shoulder of the last defender, Chislett vision and set pieces. Currie was bold left side putting County back on their heels.
OFFICIALS
T Reeves (8) — got all the key calls right and booked when needed. Tried his best to let a poor game flow
MAN OF THE MATCH
Ali Al-Hamadi — despite being up against three centre backs showed plenty of thirst and determination to keep the ball under pressure and intensity never allowed County defence to relax.
IF YOU WERE GRAHAM COUGHLAN WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
The manager has spoken previously about making changes following the short window from Saturday to Tuesday and it was clear again that County would have benefitted from freshening the pack with two or three such changes. He stuck with the favourites. The result meant the midfield was well off the pace first half, which was not helped by conceding another early game which relaxed a Wimbledon side already short of confidence and missing key personnel. This was two points dropped today and County need to start games particularly at home much sharper and assertively. The Bogle and McNeil partnership is also misfiring with neither putting in any creditable efforts on target or concern to the Wimbledon defence. On times first half the retention County offered was well below the required standard and Wimbledon feasted on the errors, breaking quickly from deep to support Al-Hamadi and link play. The biggest issue County have in games is sustaining momentum and this was probably the most disjointed performance of the season. They offered some threat late on following the belated changes with more intelligence to put their foot on the ball, but the final ball was lacking quality. Next up is Tranmere Rovers away who have been struggling for consistency. Tranmere are likely to play 4–4–2 with big onus on their full backs Dacres-Cogley and Bristow to press up high to effect the game and crowd the midfield. This is likely to be another scrap with neither sides in electric form and key County are more alert and decisive through the middle to shape play.
