Newport made three changes to the starting line-up that lost seven–nil away to Porchester on Saturday. Absent were George Holmes, Liam Triggs and Tony Potts, replaced by Darren Powell, Charlie Urry and Jared Wetherick. Goalkeeper and captain Gary Streeter had been injured towards the end of the game against Porchester, and appeared not to have fully recovered, needing the assistance of an outfield player to take goal kicks.
Newport began by attacking the Allotments End in mild weather, on a pitch in relatively good condition.
The early pressure came mainly from ‘the Badgers’, with their winger, Will Tickle proving a handful for ‘the Port’ defence, coming close in the fourth and eleventh minutes. In the fourteenth minute, Tickle went on a long mazy run, eventually being brought down by a Newport defender inside the area, with the referee having little hesitation at pointing to the penalty spot. Tickle stepped up to take the penalty himself, blasting the ball straight at Newport keeper Gary Streeter, who saved with his legs.
Was this to be the stroke of luck needed to turn round the fortunes of the home side? Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. In the thirty seventh minute Matt Sheedy was to score Brockenhurst’s opener with a low volley from inside the penalty area, and send the away side into half time with a 0–1 advantage.
HALF-TIME NEWPORT 0–1 BROCKENHURST
Newport made one change during the half time break, with George Holmes coming on to replace Aiden Radford.
The second half began promisingly for ‘the Port’, with Charlie Urry shooting just wide from a low shot within the area. The home team were pushing men forward, leaving themselves vulnerable on the break. In the fifty-fourth minute, Matt Sheedy took advantage of the gaps in defence to score his second of the game after a break from the halfway line, to make the score 0–2 to Brockenhurst. Sheedy almost managed his hat-trick when he went on to hit the post in the fifty-sixth minute. In the sixtieth minute, ‘the Badgers’ were to put the game beyond the reach of ‘the Port’, when their centre forward, Mitchell Speechley-Price lobbed the ball over a despairing Gary Streeter, to give the visitors a 0–3 lead.
Then came an unfortunate incident, when the Brockenhurst player, Matt Vokes, fell badly, requiring him to be stretchered off, to be replaced by Falodi. Newport also made two substitutions, with Jack Turkington being replaced by Charlie Butt and Tony Potts coming on for Charlie Urry.
The fresh legs for Newport failed to provide a cutting edge to the home side, although Jared Wetherick came close at the end of the match, but shot wide,.
FINAL SCORE NEWPORT 0–3 BROCKENHURST
Newport: Streeter, Turkington (Butt), Lamb, McDonough, Charlesworth, Newbold, Radford (Holmes), Kelly, Wetherick, Urry (Potts), Powell
Attendance: 50