Lewis adds spark to County's bonfire night victory
An own-goal and a calm finish from Aaron Lewis was enough for
Newport County to settle this all League Two clash against Colchester United in
the FA Cup First Round.
By: Sam Feierabend
Newport came into the game unbeaten under new manager,
Graham Coughlan, whilst Colchester had not won since 8th October in
all competitions and sat bottom of the Football League. The sides met in League
Two just a fortnight ago at Rodney Parade, with Newport coming away with a 1-0
victory.
The game started in torrid rain in South Wales, with Newport’s
hybrid pitch proving slippery meaning the ball was hard to control, and players often lost their
footing in possession. This led to some unattractive ‘hoof-ball’ from both sides
trying to get a hold in the game.
The first clear chance came in the 18th minute
when Alan Judge cut back for an unmarked Freddie Sears in the box who could
only flash his effort just wide of the post. Colchester attempted to overload
the midfield, which opened up space for Newport’s pacey wide men to utilise and
force set pieces.
It was from a free kick that County created their first
opening; pinball in the box eventually landing at the feet of Priestley Farquharson
who sliced a first-time effort wide. This sparked Newport into life, spreading
Colchester across the pitch for wingbacks to run into attack. Cameron Norman
lashed a shot from 30 yards that had to be expertly tipped over by Kieran O’Hara
in the United goal.
In a game where goals looked scarce, it took a moment of
madness to break the deadlock in the 27th minute. A long throw from
Mickey Demetriou bounced in the box before somehow being steered into his own
net by O’Hara.
The second half saw the surface dry out and more of the ball
on the floor. A half chance for Alan Judge was all Colchester could really
muster – an xG of 1.08 accumulated in the game would suggest they should have
scored, but they did not threaten Joe Day as Newport took control of the game.
County looked comfortable in possession throughout but took
until the 75th minute to strike again and put the cup tie to bed.
Aaron Lewis, fresh off the bench found himself on the end of a beautifully weighted
through ball by Will Evans before finishing convincingly.
If a third goal was coming in the game, Newport looked most
likely to score it. Omar Bogle had a chance to head home but only steered over,
before Lewis again found himself in a shooting position but his effort was blocked
over.
Then fellow substitute Matty Dolan struck the post in added
time with the rebound falling back to him, but he saw his effort spin wide.
A vocal 138 Colchester following made their feelings known to the board, as the club are sliding towards non-league football. Newport meanwhile march on looking to replicate some of their great cup runs of recent seasons.