Unfancied County pinch another late win
Report from Mark Vickery
Venue: Boundary Park
Oldham Athletic 0
Newport County 1 (Ellison 88)
Attendance:
Match Rating: **
Form:
Newport County
Oldham Athletic
PRE-MATCH THOUGHTS
Oldham scored freely last season despite a porous defence but expecting them to be robust under new manager Keith Curle. County need to deal with their craft from wide positions and shift them around when they have the ball
CONDITIONS
Mild, intermittent rain showers and keen gusty wind. Pitch in excellent condition but greasy on top.
SUMMING UP OUR PERFORMANCE IN ONE STATEMENT
Solid defensively, retained ball well through the middle, one moment of quality sealed win
TURNING POINT
County subs made midway through the second half gave them the impetus late on
THE MATCH
County introduced former goalkeeper Joe Day signed from Cardiff City with Nick Townsend on the bench but retained a familiar defence in a 3–5–2 formation with Farquharson partnering vice captain Demetriou and captain Dolan. County had another new signing from Walsall, Cameron Norman playing right wing back alongside regular left wing back Haynes. In central midfield, new signing from Bristol Rovers complimented Bennett and Willmott who spent a loan spell at Exeter towards the end of last season. County had another new signing up front Jermaine Hylton partnering Collins who graduated from the academy last season. Oldham made a busy start with Adams influencing some early play right side with a move near the right byline which earnt a corner inside 2 minutes. Oldham whipped in a decent cross which eluded everyone but County were able to clear their lines comfortably. County were patient in possession working the ball well from deep forcing Oldham in some untidy fouls and they were able to force the hosts back to defend inside their own half. On 7 minutes, Norman did well to win a challenge ahead of an eager but mistimed challenge from Oldham left back Hart but he was just ticked off by the referee. Oldham were keen to push their wing backs high up the pitch and Hart was late again on Farquharson on 10 minutes as he was about to clear his lines. County worked hard to close down the Oldham playing from the back with Hylton and Collins doing well off the ball and they pressed Oldham into some passing mistakes but County were unable to find quality with the ball final third. On 13 minutes, there was a flurry of bookings after an altercation between Norman and Piergianna that saw them both booked and Hart was third time unlucky when he booked for catching Farquharson late again on 22 minutes. Oldham were happy to sit in and break when invited with Adams offering an eager outlet right side and eye for a quick cross but County remained vigilant dealing with the aerial ball. On 27 minutes, Oldham worked an opportunity from a throw in left side with Cisse striking an ambitious effort from 30 yards which flashed well wide of the right post. County took firmer control of the game on the half hour with Upson and Dolan coordinating some good moves. On 33 minutes, Dolan did well to steal the ball the middle and play a precise pass for Collins who timed his run left side of the area. He delivered a low early cross which Hylton anticipated but he was too slow getting across his marker and Oldham managed to clear the danger. County were forced into a change on 36 minutes with Dolan not recovering from a knock and he was replaced by another new signing from Walsall James Clarke. Oldham continued to put in several clumsy challenges to disrupt County passing and Blyth was booked on 38 minutes for a crude tackle from behind on Clarke. On 40 minutes, Oldham worked a half chance from a neat switch in play when Willmott lost possession cheaply in the centre circle. Cisse found Adams near the right touchline and he turned back to deliver a decent cross which Piergianni read well but his header under pressure from 10 yards was wide of the left post. County had a decent spell of possession as half time approached with Oldham sitting increasingly deep and looking more ragged but the final ball or anticipation inside the area was missing with players not on the same wavelength.
Oldham made a change at half time with centre back Sheehan replaced by Jameson with Oldham retaining three at the back. County maintained their prowess in possession shifting Oldham about with some intricate low passes. On 47 minutes, a decent move saw County open up space with a move from the left flank saw Collins shift the ball neatly inside for Upson. He struck a decent effort from 25 yards which forced Oldham keeper Rogers parry the ball away. County made another change on 52 minutes with new signing Timmy Abraham replacing Hylton up top. County became more inventive down the left flank with Haynes and Willmott working well in tandem and there were a couple of warnings for Oldham inviting crosses which were menacing but County had nobody alert to the situation. Oldham were forced into some direct play using Blyth as an outlet but a lot of their distribution lacked precision and County broke up quickly. However as quick as they won the ball they lost it with Oldham quick to spoil and deny space. County had the ball in the net on 58 minutes from a free kick right side which Haynes delivered well and tucked away with a neat header from 10 yards into left corner but he was deemed offside. Oldham made a change up top on 60 minutes with Blyth replaced by Luamba who offered some more pace on the ball but County marshalled the threat well. The game continued to be stop start with several untidy fouls interrupting the flow and Oldham happy to sit in deep and prey upon passing mistakes to sweep forward and test County. On 66 minutes, County offered some quality with a move right side involving Norman who showed his prowess to cross in the final third with an excellent delivery to the back post but again County had nobody anticipating the situation. County made a change on 73 minutes with newly signed Kevin Ellison replacing Collins up top. Oldham were then forced to bring on Stobbs in central defence for Clarke who was injured blocking a shot from Abrahams inside the area. Oldham had a better spell with more craft final third involving Keillor-Dunne and Luamba and County gave away a couple of fouls in decent positions for Oldham. On 85 minutes, there was a warning for County when an Oldham free kick invited Adams to sweep in a decent delivery pinpointing Piergianna who headed over the bar from 10 yards. County kept plugging away working areas to find crosses either side of the area but Oldham remained vigilant. This was undone on 88 minutes from a moment of brilliant when a precise move left side saw Abraham find the overlapping run of Haynes. He delivered an early cross into the area which Ellison anticipated superbly glancing his header expertly into the top right corner from 10 yards. Oldham were forced to push on leaving gaps at the back and were fortunate not to go further behind on 90+1 minutes. Upson pinched the ball in midfield and found Willmott who slipped a quick pass for Abraham to latch onto. His pace took him forward to the edge of the area and he blasted a low powerful effort was well incepted by Stobbs. Oldham applied some late pressure putting in some hopeful crosses to test County but they were unshaken. County used Abraham well in transition to run down the clock and he was booked on 90+5 for kicking the ball away. County were determined and held on for a gutsy first away win of the season and for many fans one to remember with football finally back.
Day (7) — claimed crosses well, put under some pressure with kicks but dealt with ball well getting it safe. Not worked but made a couple of saves low down showing safe hands.
Norman (7) — forced back a little first half but dealt with threat well. Alert and won his tackles and distributed well. Showed prowess when he got in the final third with crosses.
Haynes (8) — did a lot of good defensive work first half to contend with Adams but squashed threat well. Came alive second half and had intelligence to pick his battles setting up winner well.
Demetriou (7) — won his headers well and swept up danger in behind. Distribution was a little rusty but got ball safe when he had to. Went close on a couple of set pieces with headers
Dolan (6) — coordinated some of the best early moves and showed an eye for pass before being replace by:
Clarke (7) — slotted in seamlessly alongside Norman from their time at Walsall. Won his headers and read game well and stifled threat quickly to set up some good moves
Farquharson (7) — strong in the air and was bright with ball at his feet passing effectively. Passing from deep was a little wayward when pressed but got the ball safe.
Bennett (7) — combined well with Upson to read play and pick holes with passes. Tracked danger well and competed well in the air, rarely wasted the ball when pressed.
Upson (7) — clever evading challenges and link play. Won some good headers and despite playing largely quite deep showed capability to make things happen final third.
Willmott (7) — snappy and energetic, worked hard box to box, delivered good crosses from dead ball and set pieces which deserved more. Took some risks with passes but made thing happen.
Hylton (5) — made some dynamic runs but poor decision making took him into too many dead ends. Struggled to hold ball on times and settle play and replaced early.
Collins (5) — worked hard but struggled to get clear sight of goal and turned down chances to shoot. Needs to show more teeth to get across defender and grip ball final third.
Strengths — defensively organised and switched on leaving few gaps and worked flanks well in transition.
Weaknesses — struggled to retain ball through the middle and when pressed they gifted ball back quite tamely. Distribution from deep was poor and lacked cutting edge.
Opportunities — mirrored County and played 3–5–2 never really changing tact until late on. Did show some capability to pass the ball but never built any momentum.
Threats — Blyth aerial outlet and Piergianna on set pieces. Adams set pieces and crosses were precise.
OFFICIALS
T Nield (7) — relatively lenient allowing a lot of the untidy clumsy fouls but got key decisions right allowing game to flow as best as he could in circumstances.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Ryan Haynes — showed some maturity today with solid defensive resolve to deny crosses and awareness timing his runs final third. Excellent cross for the winner.
IF YOU WERE MICHAEL FLYNN WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Almost 18 months has passed since most County fans had seen football in the flesh and many probably thought they had seen the last of Kevin Ellison but he showed his pedigree to win this match late on when quality final third had been missing for both sides with defences well on top. County did sound several warnings before the goal and you felt if a goal was to come it was from a set piece with somebody brave enough to put their head in the mix. County were defensively sound and worked some good moves from deep assuming much the better control through the middle of the pitch but they will need to improve on their ability to hurt sides from open play as they cannot always rely on their flexibility from set pieces to win games. There was a bit of reluctance to get in an early bold shot or chance their arm in and around the area and the front two will need up the physicality of their game to unsettle defenders. However, there is a good starting basis and with better sharpness and efficiency up front County can do some damage this season despite not being fancied prior to the start of the season by the pundits. Next up is Ipswich Town away in the League Cup this Tuesday and a chance to experiment possibly with the glut of away games this month.
