County continue impressive start to the season
Report from Mark Vickery at Rodney Parade
Newport County 1 (Howkins 81)
Plymouth Argyle 0
Attendance: 5,048
Form:
Newport County DdW
Plymouth Argyle WWW
PRE-MATCH THOUGHTS
Plymouth have won their opening three matches without conceding so expecting a tight encounter. Expecting a bit of cat and mouse in this game.
CONDITIONS
Sunny spells, quite warm and breezy. Pitch looked in immaculate condition despite the deluge yesterday.
SUMMING UP OUR PERFORMANCE IN ONE STATEMENT
Showed plenty of resilience when under cosh and stepped up gears after the break on and off the ball.
TURNING POINT
King save second half was not pivotal but key in a tight game.
THE MATCH
County made a couple of changes with Mark O’Brien making a belated return after suspension forcing Kyle Howkins to the bench. County were forced into a change in midfield with Matt Dolan suffering from a knock and his place was taken by Scott Bennett. Plymouth had the advantage of keen breeze first half which carrying towards the changing room corner and settled down quickly with some neat low passing movements. County kept their focus well and cleared the danger with some useful balls for Matt left side and he showed prowess to hold the ball under pressure. On 3 minutes, County swung in a decent cross into the area from a free kick right side by Sheehan. Demetriou won his header well ahead of Sawyer and directed the ball towards Labadie on the edge of the area but his low shot was claimed low down by Palmer. Plymouth remained busy in their approach with Mayor and Sarcevic eager in possession looking to link play in and around the box. County were forced to play on the break and a swift counter on 7 minutes left side invited a cross but Sarcevic handled left side of the area. Haynes took the free kick and it was menacing but despite O’Brien getting hi header in ahead of Wootton from 10 yards it was just over the left corner of post and bar. Plymouth were keen to get their wing back into the game with Riley the more prominent pressing right side. On 10 minutes, he did well to overlap and feed off a pass from Taylor and cut inside near the right corner of the box but his shot was expertly tipped over by King. Plymouth gained confidence from their approach play with Taylor up front doing well to hold and caress the ball into some decent areas final third. On 12 minutes, Plymouth put in a decent corner right side which County somewhat struggled to clear allowing Edwards a free shot near the “d” but his effort fizzed just over the bar. County were forced to play direct on times with Amond picking up some scraps in behind but Plymouth were able to sweep up effectively with Canavan alert to the danger. On 18 minutes, County were dealt a blow when Demetriou went down defending a ball to the back post and went down in a heap in a tackle to deny Taylor. Demetriou was taken to the side to receive treatment and stretchered off and replaced by Howkins. Plymouth remained in control in the possession stakes but County eased into the game with some crosses from wide positions but the Plymouth defence remained alert clearing effectively. On 27 minutes, Haynes was again pivotal with a raking move from deep and a good exchange with Sheehan. He checked back to dink in a decent cross into the centre of the box which Matt leapt up to head but his stretching header looped wide of the right post. Plymouth created some good passing exchanges as half time approached which County worked hard to contain. Sarcevic remained the most likely threat with his movement and eye for penetrating gaps and County did well to block some snapshots near the edge of the area. County kept working hard to deny space forcing Plymouth into some errors with their passing which allowed County to break on them. On 43 minutes, a snappy County move from deep saw Sheehan slip a neat pass into Matt near the edge of the area and his neat turn off a challenge from Sawyer coaxed a foul in a threatening position. Haynes took the free kick but his delivery was a little high and a bit of a let off for Plymouth keeper Palmer. County kept pressing final third and Palmer had a couple of anxious moments on the stroke of half time with his kicks going astray under pressure.
County were forced into a change at half time with Bennett being replaced by Abrahams which saw County change to a more attacking 4–3–3 formation. County made their intentions clear with a bright move inside the first couple of minutes when Plymouth lost possession in midfield. Sheehan did well to thread a quick pass right side to find Abrahams. He did well to pinpoint Matt inside the area with a low cross into the six yard he clipped his shot wide of the left post. Sheehan was involved with some of intricate play County put together as they maintained their swagger shifting the ball low to move Plymouth about. On 53 minutes, Plymouth made their first change with Baxter replacing Edwards in central midfield. Plymouth were keen to push on using their flanks but were caught out on 56 minutes when they lost possession left side. Willmott raced ahead of Mayor and play a quick pass to release Matt down the right side of the area. He delivered a low first time cross which went through the six yard box and Haynes did well to beat Riley to the ball but his effort went into the side netting from an acute angle. On 60 minutes, Haynes did well to win a free kick anticipating well on the break but he was checked by Riley. Haynes took the free kick which was precise finding Matt in a deep position back post and he caressed a good header into the box which Amond read but under pressure his effort dropped just wide of the left post. County kept plugging away with some combative challenges in the middle to deny Plymouth building momentum. On 63 minutes, Labadie won a 50–50 header before Sarcevic but caught him slightly late winning the challenge and found himself harshly in the book. Plymouth made efforts to get cohesion back into their game with Taylor doing his best to provide an outlet. County remained vigilant breaking up play well and looking the more capable going forward and a couple of crosses from wide positions just eluding the runs of Matt and Abrahams. Plymouth made another change on 70 minutes with Grant replacing Sarcevic to freshen up their midfield threat. County had the benefit of the wind and King put in a couple of decent kick outs to test the Plymouth centre backs. On 72 minutes, Plymouth retrieved the ball right side after a corner and Grant set up an opportunity for Baxter to shoot but his curling effort was parried away well by King on the left side. County continued to enjoy the territorial advantage forcing a couple of corners and Plymouth were able to scramble the ball away inside the area with a goal-line clearance by Riley on 76 minutes. There was another warning for Plymouth on 78 minutes when Labadie did well right side of the area to angle his run when Abrahams did well to pick out his run. From an acute angle, Labadie dragged a low effort inches wide of the left post. County kept pressing and got their noses in front on 81 minutes after corner broke down right side. Plymouth were not able to clear their lines effectively and Abrahams set up the cross back into the area which pinpointed the unmarked Howkins who powerfully headed home into the top right corner from 10 yards with Palmer rooted to the spot. Plymouth made their change on 85 minutes with Telford replaced by Lolos. County were happy to protect their lead and Plymouth made efforts to pick holes down the right side with Baxter and Grant prising out some openings. County had Matt in the book on 86 minutes for a mistimed tackle on McFazdean as he danced away from a challenge on the left channel. Plymouth pushed on with centre back Wootton creeping forward to support moves final third. On 88 minutes, County allowed a deep cross by Grant to drop dangerously but Wootton scooped a difficult a half volley over the bar from 10 yards. County looked for direct balls to tame the pressure in the final minutes and were happy to run down the clock. On 90 minutes, Labadie took an ambitious free kick quickly for County from 40 yards but it sailed wide of the right post with Palmer off his line. Plymouth had a decent chance deep into the three minutes of injury time when Grant drove to the right byline and his dangerous low cross was anticipated well by Lolos who had his effort deflected over well by Howkins. County held out to pinch a decent first win of the season and got a warm applause at the end for their efforts.
King (7) — kept defence alert with good organisation and made some decent reaction saves to deny from distance and kicked and distributed well especially second half.
McNamara (7) — very solid game today, intelligent use of the ball, was alert to the danger and read game well, precise with his passes and timed his runs forward well.
Haynes (8) — contributed well, was forced back first half but got forward to provide some neat crosses. Showed great drive to get in back post and set up winning goal on his weaker foot.
Demetriou (6) — competed well in the aerial duals and cleared danger thrown at him before unfortunate injury and replaced by:
Hawkins (7) — got ball safe when he had and used his head to deal with the ball quicker. Won the aerial duals and was always a menace on set pieces burying the winner with a bullet header.
Labadie (8) — won majority of his individual duals and was robust breaking forward with several strong runs. Put in several decent shots and with better finishing may have had a hat trick.
Bennett (5) — struggled to get a foothold in the game, kept passing simple and never looked mobile first half suffering from knock and replaced by:
Abrahams (7) — did well to hassle and pick holes, was always a problem for Plymouth when they lost possession carrying his runs into decent positions. Set up some good opportunities from wide areas.
Willmott (7) — was forced back for large parts of the game and did well to track threat from McFazdean on flanks. Put in some decent crosses from deeper positions but did good off the ball work today.
Sheehan (8) — best game in County shirt in recent months, shifted ball quickly, threaded some good passes to turn Plymouth back. Kept working off the ball and despite not winning all tackles did enou
Matt (7) — won some good headers on set pieces but struggled first half a bit from open play to retain the ball. Came alive after the break providing for others and always a nuisance inside the six yard.
Amond (7) — was restricted on clearcut chances but did a lot of the spade work. Dropped deeper second half to make up numbers in the middle and used ball effectively to link play.
SWOT ANALYSIS OPPONENTS
Strengths — composed side, they were effective in their passing game, recycling play well and kept organised defensively.
Weaknesses — when turned inside they looked less comfortable and pressed into unforced passing errors second half. Keeper was a bit indecisive kicking and put under pressure inside six yard box.
Opportunities — they were keen to use their wing backs to develop passing patterns and best play went through them. Late substitutes pepped up their approach play and penetration right side.
Threats — Mayor and Telford were creative with ball at feet, Sarcevic linking in and around the box. Grant got into some advanced positions late on.
OFFICIALS
P Wright (6) — found his interpretation frustrating on times, getting taken in by some of the falling over and some bookings were questionable but kept game moving.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Ryan Haynes — was bright and bold coming forward with drive to get into the final third and influence on game was key second half. Showed he can use both feet very well today
IF YOU WERE MICHAEL FLYNN WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
This game was a slow burner for County. To be fair, Plymouth showed their credential first half with a lot of neat moves in transition but County marshalled the threat pretty well keeping their concentration well to clear danger. County did sit off the game too much first half allowing Plymouth to dictate proceeding but as soon as they did snap at their heels they started to make their presence felt and you felt if they could be a little sharper and decisive in the final third chances would come. Abrahams has decent game today with some intelligent and robust runs which was always a problem for Plymouth when they had pushed on. County coped well with the threat Plymouth had from wide with the wing backs denied space and it was only late on that they were able to penetrate to the byline with any gust. With Demetriou injured, County will need to assess if another central defender is now required, they will undoubtedly miss his presence and set piece threat. With some injuries to contend with in midfield, County will need to adjust when they visit Walsall who have some clever ball players in midfield to be marshalled like Kinsella and Kiersey who are protected by the robust tackling Sinclair. They do have vulnerability though out wide despite offering pace, there will be holes to pick for County so this match could boil down to what County do in transition if the middle become congested and untidy.
