Reynolds on target but the Exiles can’t stitch up Cobblers PRE-SEASON FRIENDLIES
NEWPORT County completed their pre-season with a battling 2-1 defeat against Northampton Town at Sixfields.
There was a familiar face in the Cobblers dugout as Justin Edinburgh, who guided County to promotion to the Football League in 2013, led out the hosts with former County defender Regan Poole also lining up against the Exiles.
Mike Flynn’s men had the best of the first half with summer signings Frank Nouble and Robbie Willmott causing plenty of problems in the final third but the visitors couldn’t open the scoring before the break.
They continued to impress in the second half and Lamar Reynolds missed a guilt-edged chance when perfectly set-up by Nouble.
But the forward made amends with a cool finish after a good ball from club captain Joss Labadie.
The lead didn’t last long though as Chris Long equalised almost immediately before Leon Barnett secured a hard-fought win for the Cobblers with a late header.
Despite the defeat, there were plenty of positives for County ahead of their season opener at Stevenage next week.
Meanwhile, Wrexham were held to a 1-1 draw in what was an entertaining encounter with Chorley at Victory Park.
Chris Holroyd was involved in the majority of the play in the first half but a combination of alert goalkeeping and dogged defending kept him off the scoresheet.
But the Dragons did eventually break Chorley’s resistance through Scott Boden in the 35th minute. Manny Smith forced a good save from Matt Urwin but the ‘keeper could only parry the effort to the feet of Boden, who tapped into the unguarded net.
After soaking up a lot of pressure, Chorley were given a rare chance with a free kick early in the second half and Courtney Meppen-Walter struck a superb curling effort to beat Chris Dunn from 25 yards.
Wrexham continued to press for a winner but Chorley held on to seal the draw.
Elsewhere, Llanelli Town’s freescoring form continued with a 6-3 victory over Carmarthenshire League Premier Division champions Trostre Sports.
James Loveridge and Luke Jones were in the goals as both claimed a hat-trick, with Loveridge also missing a penalty.
Jamie Jenx was among the Trostre scorers, with a brace.
Carmarthen Town and Llandudno were also among the goals as both hit five in big victories. Carmarthen beat Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh League Division One outfit Port Talbot Town 5-2.
Liam Griffiths was at the double with further strikes from Liam Thomas, Tyler Brock and Matthew Thomas securing the victory.
Llandudno managed to keep a clean sheet as they thrashed Tranmere Rovers 5-0.
Shaun Cavanagh led the way with two while Toby Jones and Owain Jones were both among the goals.
Elsewhere, Cefn Druids beat Widnes 4-3, Cardiff Metropolitan University eased past Merthyr Town 3-0 while Goytre United enjoyed their 3-0 victory at Trefelin.
But there were defeats for Connah’s Quay Nomads (2-1 v Hyde FC) and Newtown (3-2 v Rushall Olympic) while The New Saints were beaten 1-0 in the Shropshire Senior Cup final by Shawbury United.