Set piece goal edges out County side lacking punch
Report from Mark Vickery
Venue: Rodney Parade
Newport County 0
Exeter City 1 (Dieng 72)
Attendance: 5,697
Match Rating: ***
Form:
Newport County LDDWDWWWLd
Exeter City WWDLWdWWdW
PRE-MATCH THOUGHTS
Exeter have climbed to 2nd in League Two despite losing players in central midfield through injury. They have adapted well but their front three are effective and County need to stifle that but use their prowess to turn them round in transition.
CONDITIONS
Quite mild, sunny spells and keen breeze. Pitch in excellent condition and conducive to football.
SUMMING UP OUR PERFORMANCE IN ONE STATEMENT
Lacked cohesion final third, fluffed the few chances on offer but never really looked balanced
TURNING POINT
Exeter goal put them in control but County will look back on decent chances first half
THE MATCH
County made a surprise change up front with former Exeter striker Alex Fisher getting the nod ahead of Rob Street who was on the bench. County were keen to keep their play low and sharp in the early exchanges but Exeter remained vigilant winning tackles early. Exeter worked some early moves right side to test County with left back Lewis put under pressure in the air by Brown. On 8 minutes, Exeter shifted play quickly with Collins finding the run of Brown right side and he jinked inside before striking an effort from 20 yards over the bar. County kept plugging away with Exeter remaining disciplined and snapping at challenges and a couple of interruptive fouls not being given. County snapped out of their shell on 15 minutes and should have forged ahead. A decisive move that beat the Exeter press saw Norman pick out Telford and he did well with his back to goal to shift play inside for Azaz. He powered through the middle evading a challenge from Stubbs and raced into the box but some indecision allowed Exeter keeper Dawson to smother the low effort from 10 yards. County started playing Exeter at their own pressing harder through the middle of the pitch which evolved more threat from deeper positions. On 18 minutes, County had another decent situation snapping up possession well in the centre circle through Bennett and he carried his run forward creating an overload of players inside the box. Bennett picked out Azaz left side and he adjusted but appeared to slip and could drag his effort wide of the right post. The game remained scrappy on times with several fouls continuing to disrupt the flow of the game but Exeter kept persisting with their direct approach right side using Brown as an outlet to keep the ball and buy time. County marshalled the danger well and remained patient with the ball at feet passing low and sharp. On 27 minutes, County created an excellent move right side of the area with Norman linking well to find Waite right side of the area. He cut back a good pass to find Telford who showed good vision to pick out the late run by Azaz but his low effort from 10 yards was well saved in the right corner by Dawson. Exeter were happy to launch long balls from deep when invited with both centre backs Hartridge left side and Sweeney right side distributing well under pressure. County were given a warning on 35 minutes when Key ghosted into space right side and his early cross was seized upon by Brown. He span and hit a decent shot on the turn from 12 yards which drifted wide of the left post. County responded with a good move in transition on 37 minutes with Lewis threading a pass to Waite in the left corner. He showed his prowess to cross from a tight position pinpointing Fisher front post but his header drifted harmlessly over the bar when he should have worked the keeper. Exeter had a better spell of pressure as half time approached with some opportunist crosses thrown in from wide positions but County managed the threat well. In first half injury time with County forced deeper, Exeter had a corner left side which Collins floated into the area but the header from Stubbs from 10 yards looped over the bar.
County regained some momentum after half time offering plenty of industry to work a couple of corners which Exeter dealt with well. On 53 minutes, County won a corner left side which Willmott curled into the front post and Clarke got to a header under pressure from Sweeney but the effort smothered and hooked away by Exeter. County kept probing away with Exeter prepared to sit in and frustrate and the quality on the crosses was lacking. On 58 minutes, Exeter created a sweeping move from deep with Collins finding Dieng through the middle and with space invited he struck a decent effort which Lewis did well to deflect for a corner right side. Brown took the corner which flashed deep and County were caught napping but Dieng unmarked could only direct his header wide of the left post from 10 yards. County made a change on 62 minutes with Baker-Richardson replacing Fisher and made efforts to pick up the tempo of their game. On 68 minutes, County created an excellent move going through several players and Waite appeared to be checked crudely making a run across the face of the area. The referee waved advantage but Exeter cleared and he failed to bring back and penalise the player. Exeter kept rigidly to their gameplan and got their reward on 72 minutes when they stifled a stuttering County move and Dieng coaxed Demetriou to come across out of position to deny his run left corner of the area. Demetriou was booked and Sparkes delivered an excellent delivery which Dieng somewhat unconvincedly headed home unmarked into the left corner from 8 yards. County made another change soon after with Bennett replaced by Collins who went left side with County switching to 4–3–3. County responded with some pressure right side with Norman forcing play higher up the pitch and were they were close on 77 minutes when they forced Exeter to defend deep inside their own area. Collins had a snapshot blocked and the rebound was seized upon by Telford only for his effort from an acute angle to be parried away for a corner. Exeter made a change soon after with Phillips replacing Zanzala. Exeter kept picking holes well with County committed forward and Willmott was coaxed into an untidy foul on 82 minutes when recovering back to tackle Rowe. Exeter followed up with another change on 85 minutes with Coley on Dieng. County kept working the right side well but offered little penetration left side despite Exeter inviting some gaps and some tired clearances. On 88 minutes, County won a corner right side with Willmott delivered well to the front post and Baker-Richardson saw his header from 8 yards well saved low in the right corner. County made a late change on 90 minutes with Street on for Clarke and forced Exeter deeper in the four minutes of injury time. On 90+1 minutes, County had a half chance when a bright move across the face of the area saw Street lay off neatly to Azaz and his first time effort was deflected by Hartridge but the sting taken out of the shot. County had Norman in the book moments later for an overzealous tackle on Sparkes. Exeter remained stubborn holding the ball in the corners and gain a win to rubberstamp their automatic promotion
Day (6) — not really overworked and in truth had few saves to make from open play. Made a couple of solid saves low down but distribution was a little sluggish allowing Exeter to re-group and re-focus.
Lewis (5) — put under pressure in the air and must have had a stiff neck at the end. Tackled and passed well but never really able to influence game enough when some thrust was needed left side
Norman (7) — best moves went through but overused. Competed well in the air, robust and despite being restricted on crosses he linked and set up some good opportunities with movement.
Demetriou (6) — put under some aerial pressure by Brown and found himself being turned back a lot and cover headers for Lewis. Distributed well and made efforts to link play higher up pitch
Clarke (7) — dealt well with Zanzala and denied outlet left side pretty well. Strong with his headers and flirted with goal on a couple of headers on set pieces but often tame as from a standing position.
Azaz (6) — frustrating game, found space difficult to find through the middle and when he did time his runs in behind, denied with indecision going for placement instead of power.
Willmott (5) — pretty non-descript game by his standards. Sat deep for large spells, kept passing ticking over neat and tidy but short. Provided a couple of decent set pieces.
Waite (7) — best player in a flat midfield, made some good supporting runs and crosses from tight positions and did his best to find opening. Needs to be more greedy and get more shots in and around area.
Bennett (5) — had some spells where he broke up play well and was decisive coming forward but didn’t win enough of his headers and tackles second too the ball too often today.
Telford (6) — drought goes on, did best work to set up chances for others but really need to be getting into positions to finish moves rather than create. Had a couple of snapshots blocked inside the area
Fisher (5) — offered very little threat and off the ball work ethic lacking. Too timid in retention of the ball and lacked awareness final third. Missed a decent header from close range.
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths — they were functional, happy to sit in and stifle but kept possession well final third and were composed defending under pressure.
Weaknesses — wide centre back Sweeney and Hartridge wanted extra touch and sharper sides would have punished lack of pace. Small side but County lacked quality and bite on set pieces to worry them
Opportunities — dropped top scorer Jay to play a more defensive 3–4–1–2 and set their stall out to stifle and use Brown as an outlet right side. Never really changed tact and didn’t have to.
Threats — Brown runs right side and strength to fend off challenges and set pieces were decent. Collins and Dieng worked a decent partnership through middle. Dieng decent in the aerial duals
OFFICIALS
C Sarginson (6) — took ages to blow up on times allowed advantage to the nth degree. Allowed a lot of the clambering and pulling refusing to book until late on.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Jevani Brown — much improved and rounded player from his days at Cambridge. Key outlet right side to buy time and bring other players in. Provided some useful crosses and set pieces as well
IF YOU WERE JAMES ROWBERRY WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
County had their spells and may well look back on this game as one that got away. Despite Exeter having more territory, the statistics overall were pretty even but Exeter still had a better control of the game and certainly took more care of the ball final third. The option to start Fisher somewhat back-fired with County impaired by poor retention up top and Telford doing too much work outside the box to offset. Having said that, County squandered a couple of presentable chances before Exeter scored when they broke the press. Azaz continues to get into good positions, often 1 on 1, but electing for precision and not putting his foot through the shot allowed Exeter off the hook. They say if you can’t win, then draw but County got coaxed into forcing the game late on allowing Exeter to pick holes which they did well to see out the game. County also looked very right sided today with too much weight being left on Norman to lift play up the pitch. County need to work on their balance and have a more forceful outlet left side to give sides something to think about and it was a surprise that Haynes was not introduced at some point second half as space opened up. County also need to assert their game better through the middle of the pitch as they allowed Exeter too much freedom to pick holes. Next up is Swindon Town away who are likely to play 4–3–3 system. Swindon were effectively using counter attack to punish sides early in season with McKirdy a key outlet up front but they do still rest heavy demand Payne for retention in midfield. County need to offer more teeth through the middle and get Telford off the last man and doing less of the creating and more of the punishing inside the area.
