Stevenage Football Club welcome promotion-pushing Newport County to The Lamex this Saturday for a crucial clash in Sky Bet League Two…
Two teams at opposite ends of the league table battle it out as Stevenage look to stay clear of the drop zone whilst Newport aim to remain in a play-off position. Tisdale’s men’s last fixture ended in heartbreak as the side were winning 2-1 until Theo Archibald equalised for Leyton Orient in the dying moments. Newport on the other hand come into this fixture unbeaten in five, with their last game ending in a 1-0 win at home to Bristol Rovers.
Initially founded in 1912, Newport became founder members of The Football League Third Division in 1920. The club have a Third Division South title to their name, picking up the trophy in the 1938/39 campaign. Four decades later, in the 1979/1980 season, Newport secured promotion out of the Fourth Division and won the Welsh Cup for the first time, placing them into the UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup the next year, reaching the quarter finals of the competition. However, in the 1980s, Newport suffered financial difficulties, losing their Football League status in 1988 and going out of business the next year.
The club reformed in 1989, picking up the nickname the Exiles. It wasn’t until 2013 that Newport County would return to The Football League after winning the Conference play-off final in 2013. Since then, the side have played their football in Sky Bet League Two and have most notably earned some FA cup upsets along the way, knocking out Leicester City, Leeds and taking Spurs to a replay.
Since Michael Flynn’s managerial departure in October 2021, James Rowberry has been at the helm. The club sit in fifth place, just one point away from the automatic promotion places. So far this season, they have won fifteen of their thirty-five league games, drawing eleven and losing nine. Their top scorer is Dominic Telford who sits on twenty-four goals and is also Sky Bet League Two top scorer.
Boro and The Exiles have met on fourteen occasions in the past with the Hertfordshire club having the slightly better win-rate. Stevenage have won six encounters with Newport winning four and the remaining four ending in draws. The highest-scoring meeting between the sides was at The Lamex in 2017 as Tom Pett, Dale Gorman and Danny Newton contributed to a 3-3 draw.
Referee - Ben Toner
Assistant Referee 1 - Daniel Bonneywell
Assistant Referee 2 - Scott Williams
Fourth Official - Stuart Butler
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