Report by Mark Vickery at Spytty Park

Newport County 0

Grimsby Town 0

Attendance: 1,675

County retreat into their shell as three points go begging

PRE-MATCH THOUGHTS

Grimsby have taken a couple bad defeats but I don’t expect them to offer much charity today and we will need to grind out a result

CONDITIONS

Cloudy, light breeze and mild - pitch looked decent and glossy after some early rain     

SUMMING UP OUR PERFORMANCE IN ONE STATEMENT

Flat in the final third and devoid of any quality and passion       

TURNING POINT

None to note our good chance on the stoke of half time was a let off

THE MATCH

Grimsby made their intentions clear from the offset with a drive and determination to win every ball. They had the better early exchanges and delivered a couple searching crosses into the area which were well dealt with by County. There were some well contested challenges in the heart of the pitch as both sides struggled to gain any superiority with County largely patient in their approach and Grimsby electing to play more directly with Hearn and Coulson making some strong runs. Rogers was on the end of rather crude high challenge on 18 minutes by Thompson which the referee took some time to interpret and only issued a yellow card when he became aware Rogers was bleeding from the head. Rogers ran to the side of the pitch to receive treatment before given permission and the referee duly booked him to the anger of the crowd. From the resultant free kick, Rose whipped an excellent delivery from the right flank which was glanced on well by Buchanan from 10 yards but the keeper reacted well to save low down. Rogers was forced off to have stitches in his head and was replaced by new signing from Northampton Ryan Gilligan. County were buoyed by the injustice of the decision and when they showed the nerve to hold the ball under pressure, Grimsby were coaxed into late challenges. On 27 minutes, County had a free kick in a decent position on the right side of the pitch and Rose struck a good effort around the wall from 25 yards but again the keeper was alert to it. Grimsby continued to show a good work ethic with Coulson doing well to orchestrate play in the final third with some good ball retention. County continued to probe away but their play was continued disrupted by the cynical approach offered by Grimsby and the opponents soon lost their edge going forward and adopted a more stifling approach to restrict County. Yakubi was booked for County on 37 minutes after getting tangled up in a late challenge with ex-County striker Rob Duffy. County looked most threatening when the made the ball stick and a decent move on 43 minutes down the left channel saw Jardim influential in finding space for a cross which McAllister glanced well to the back towards Buchanan who had a chance to head goalbound but somewhat generously elected to play the ball back across the six yard area and Grimsby escaped. Duffy did well for Grimsby on the stroke of half time with angled run to the right side of the area but dragged his effort from an acute angle well with of the left post.

Grimsby made a change at half time with Elding replacing Hearn up front. County needed to raise the tempo of their game and they became more alive down the left channel with Jardim making some bright runs to test right back Wood. On 53 minutes, a snappy break by County caught Grimsby somewhat exposed down the left channel and despite Baker being pulled back he managed to release Jardim as the referee waved play on. Jardim made a good run into the box but squandered a good situation by passing the ball at the keeper when he had players supporting in the area. County had a good spell of possession for a time and Wood found himself in the book on 60 minutes for persistent fouling. McAllister was then booked by the referee for a late foul on Disley near the left channel. Grimsby continued to absorb pressure well and look for hole on the break and despite getting men forward well there was little evidence they had any quality to threaten. It was little surprise when Grimsby made a double substitution on 70 minutes with Duffy being replaced Spencer and Thompson by Makofo. Grimsby had a glimmer of chance on 73 minutes when they forced County to defend deep inside the area with some trickery down the left channel and Coulson manoeuvred himself well to find space for a shot from 14 yards but it was wide of the right post. Grimsby had a good situation on 75 minutes when they broke with some coordination and Disley made a good overlap to support Spencer on the right flank but he wasted his cross from the near the right side of the box. County had flirted with scoring from the possession they had in the second half but were given an opportunity out of nothing from direct play on 78 minutes. A quick ball down the middle was hooked on well by Buchanan and McAllister got goalside of Kempster only to be hauled down just inside the box and the linesman awarded the penalty. Pearson and Spencer were both booked for disputing the decision with the referee. Disappointing for County McAllister struck a weak low penalty which the keeper Arthur managed to divert away to safety. It was a surprise that County made no offensive substitutions in the final ten minutes to give them the impetus to go on and win the game. Grimsby sat back with men behind the ball and County showed little invention or appetite to break them down. The more likely threat came when they made runs at their Grimsby wall of defence and Rose did well to win a free kick on 90 minutes after playing a clever one two with McAllister. The set piece was disappointing through when Rose blasted the ball into the wall. County had a couple of late corners with Yakubi placing an effort wide of the right post but Grimsby dug in tenaciously earning their sixth booking in injury when Coulson was done for time wasting.  

Potter (7) – had very little to do in truth but kicked and distributed effectively with some quick play from the back.

Rodgers (6) – was sound enough defensively was quick to dampen danger but erratic going forward with his use of the ball

Millar (8) – strong in the air, was well positioned throughout and made some very sturdy but well timed tackles  

Yakubi (8) – dominated in the air, quelled threat from direct play with some robust challenge and cleared well        

Baker (7) – put under some pressure which he dealt with pretty well in truth and did try and make things happen in the final third  

Docherty (6) – took a couple of knocks and continued to work hard but often second best in the challenge and influence waned as a result

Rogers (6) – was replaced early on by:

Gilligan (6) – looked good when he had the ball and used it well in general but little seen of him linking play from midfield which was disappointing      

Rose (7) – found space was limited today, competed well and did his best to work some good situations but his set pieces were a little blunt today        

Jardim (7) – had some bright spells with the ball at his feet and the only real player prepared to face and make runs at defence.         

Buchanan (6) – forced to play with his back to goal largely and let a couple of chances go begging which he should have done better on

McAllister (6) – didn’t get across his man enough today, when did he was effective but sharpness somewhat lacking              

SWOT ANALYSIS OPPONENTS

Strengths – they defended well as a unit and never really left anyone exposed. Strong in the air and combative approach paid off

Weaknesses – often very little thought other than to play direct, defenders lacked quality to pass straight and lack of discipline likely to drag them down the league      

Opportunities – they did get men forward well when they had the chance and pushed County back on the channels

Threats – Coulson did well in the final third and had the ability to play a killer passes but other than that you could only see a goal from a set piece with aerial prowess at the back     

OFFICIALS

R Merchant (6) – played some good advantage but bit disappointing how failed to get to the play on times relying on linesman for decisions. 

MAN OF THE MATCH

Kenny Arthur – made a couple of important saves at key times and kept defence focussed

IF YOU WERE ANTHONY HUDSON WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Grimsby must have watched County against Kettering and decided that the best way of stop them was to suffocate the life out of the game and slow the game down. County allowed their opponents to dictate the pace of the game too much today and will be disappointed that they could not find the extra gear to go on and win the match. County did have some decent spells of possession but did not play explosively enough, particularly on the break, to worry a Grimsby back four or back eight as it was in the last 10 minutes. County look at the moment as if they are going to struggle to get the better of more physical robust sides who squeeze play especially well down the channels. It was also concern today that we could not make any positive changes from the bench which looked likely to alter the direction of the game when we desperately needed to.