Alex Kiwomya‘s third goal in five games looked to give Crewe Alexandra their second away win of the season, before Sean Rigg headed Newport level and give the home side a well deserved share of the points.
Newport vs Crewe
Newport manager Warren Feeney chose kept faith with his side who lost 2-1 to Luton on Tuesday night, as did Crewe’s Steve Davis, who kept new signing Danny Hollands on the bench, fielding the same side which drew 3-3 with Hartlepool.
First Half, 1-20 minutes
Both Newport and Crewe were looking to dominate the early possession. However, it was Newport who had the first real chance to take the lead, with Jennison Myrie-Williams breaking free down the left wing. After beating his marker, the Newport winger sent a low cross into the penalty area which took a slight deflection and was saved by Garratt in the Crewe goal.
Straight after, Crewe then started to take control of the match and George Cooper forced Joe Day in the Newport goal into making a save. After giving Newport a warning of what was to come, just two minutes later Crewe took the lead. Newport’s Jordan Green was easily dispossessed while trying to turn his marker with a drop of his shoulder and the ball fell to Kiwomya. The Chelsea loanee cut inside from the left wing before scoring a curling shot from the edge of the area.
Almost straight away, Feeney made a change. With just 19 minutes on the clock Green was replaced with Barnum-Bobb, with Green making straight for the tunnel instead of the dugout. Within minutes Newport were forced into making their second substitution of the match. Defender Jamie Turley limped off with the County boss changing the system, dropping the 4-4-2 for a 4-3-3 and bringing on experienced forward Jon Parkin on to join Jackson and Rigg up front.
First Half, 21-45 minutes
The tactical chance gave Newport a new dimension as the first half came to a close. The 4-3-3 formation allowed the Newport to hit the ball long, up to Parkin who would flick on into the path of his strike partners. The early substitution almost paid off for Newport, but unfortunately for their fans, Joss Ladabie‘s goal was disallowed after Parkin strayed offside in the buildup
Crewe started to push forward in the hope of doubling their lead, almost doing so just before half time. Their closest chance coming from a cross from the left wing, which found Lowe inside the box. Lowe cushioned the ball into the path of Kiwomya, who’s shot was dragged just wide of the far post.
Second Half, 45-65 minutes
As the second half started, Crewe looked to get on the front foot, almost doubling their lead on 51 minutes. James Jones’ shot from the edge of the area beat Day only for full-back Dan Butler to clear to safety. As the second half continued Newport started to take control with Crewe dropping deeper and deeper to protect their lead.
On the hour mark Sean Rigg’s came close to scoring, but his header from a corner bounced off the crossbar and from the resulting corner Jon Parkin saw his header tipped over by Garratt.
Second Half, 65-90 minutes
As Newport pushed forward, they were almost caught out on the break with 15 minutes to go. Lowe picked up on a Darren Jones mistake just inside the Newport half and found himself one on one with Day in the County goal, only to see Day rush out and block the shot.
Finally Newport drew level with just nine minutes remaining. Barnum-Bobb had found some space after breaking down the right wing and crossed for Rigg. Rigg was then able to hit a glancing header past Garratt in the Crewe goal. As a result of Newport drawing level, they pushed forward looking for a winner and almost had it though Jackson. Sean Rigg had broken free out wide and found Jackson with a cross, but he could not guide the ball home as it fell just wide.
In the end, both teams will look back and see this as a fair result for two evenly matched teams.
