Flynn can’t wait to see Labadie back in the Exiles’ starting XI
MICHAEL Flynn can’t wait to welcome back Joss Labadie into his midfield lineup this week as Newport County prepare for two massive matches against promotion rivals Exeter City and Forest Green.
Labadie was one of the four players sent-off in five games that forced Flynn to send a makeshift midfield into action against bottom of the table Southend United last week. It ended in a 1-0 humiliation at Rodney Parade.
The first red card culprit, Josh Sheehan, has been back in action, but hasn’t looked the same player as in the early part of the season when he was able to play on top of the ground.
The fulcrum of County’s passing game, he has been ankle deep in mud and sand at home and not much better at away venues.
Labadie was next to earn a three match ban, while Liam Shepherd and Scot Bennett were quick to follow suit. Due to the postponement of yesterday’s (Saturday) trip to Port Vale, Shepherd will miss Tuesday night’s game against Exeter and Bennett won’t be free to play again until next week.
“We simply didn’t win enough balls in midfield against Southend and we need to be better at doing the ugly stuff when we know our pitch isn’t going to be conducive to playing a passing game,” said Flynn.
“I don’t think Joss realises how much of an impact he can have with the pitches as they are. The physical presence he can give us in the middle will be very important.
“Winning more second balls and rebounds is huge at the moment and I just hope he is on top of his game when he returns. We been on a bad run and we need to cut out the individual errors and the red cards.
“It felt like the end of the world when we lost to the bottom team in the league. Going to Port Vale and winning would have been a huge boost, but if we’d gone there and lost it would have been bad for us.
“The break has given us the chance to put some more training into the players and work a bit more of fitness with some of them. Hopefully we will be fresh when we face Exeter on Tuesday night.”
The fact the Dragons game against Edinburgh on Friday night was called off will have helped the Rodney Parade pitch to recover for Tuesday, but there is another PRO14 game scheduled for this Friday ahead of the game against Forest Green. That certainly won’t help.
Despite only taking seven points from a possible 30 in their last 10 games, County are still in fifth place and in touch with the top teams with games in hand.
What they need to do is find a game that can win them a few games before they can return to their more fluid style.
“I was really proud of the grit and effort the players showed in the win over Grimsby after we went down to 10 men. We’ve got to make sure we can win the ugly games,” added Flynn.
“We’ve got 20 games to go, 11 at home and nine away, and the spirit in the group is good. We are still in a good position.”
THERE are now less than three weeks to go before the JD Cymru Premier League’s proposed restart, but top of the table The New Saints haven’t been twiddling their thumbs waiting for 5 March.
Like everyone else, Scott Ruscoe’s side haven’t played a competitive game since 19 December, but despite the COVID rules in Wales being different to England the Oswestry-based side have been able to continue training and playing at their Park Hall base.
Hoping to hit the ground running to stay ahead of reigning champions Connah’s Quay Nomads in the race for the coveted place in the Champion’s League for the winners, Ruscoe has worked hard to arrange friendlies for his side.
New signing Adam Roscrow, who signed from League 1 club Wimbledon AFC, found himself making his TNS debut against Liverpool U23 at the Premier League giants’ training centre.
Next was a trip to Burnley to face their U23 team, where the home side won 1-0.
The third game was against
Northern League side Chester, where Greg Draper banged in two goals in a 4-2 triumph. It has been a similar story for Andy Morrison’s Nomads, who had a run out against Salford City last week.
“When you are only training and you don’t have a date in mind for when you will be playing again it is important to keep the players motivated and ready to return,” said Ruscoe.
That return should be on 5 March following the decision recently announced by the Football Association of Wales, along with the Welsh Premier Women’s League. The season will then run to a completion by 31 May – a week earlier for the women - if there are no more COVID interruptions.
There is also a chink of light for the teams playing in the JD Cymru North and South divisions. They have been given a proposed start date of 20 March, playing through to 29 May. The Nathaniel MG Cup ties will also be fitted into the same three month period.
The JD Welsh Cup will be restricted to the 44 teams playing in Tiers 1 and 2 and will be played between 20 April - 5 June. The Welsh Premier Women’s League Cup will be played between 23 March - 23 May.
When the JD Cymru Premier returns there will be plenty of new faces to see following a busy transfer window. While Roscrow was come in to bolster the TNS attack, Connah’s Quay Nomads have boosted theri offence with the signing of ex-Southampton and Tottenham winger, Rio Glean.
The 19-year-old Londoner has been joined by Australian U20 goalkeeper, Kai Calderbank-Park, who has been working with the Burnley Academy, as well as experienced left back Johnny Hunt and central defenders Tom Moore and Doug Tharme.
Bottom of the table Aberystwyth Town have extended to the end of the season the loan spell for Wales U20 goalkeeper Connor Roberts and have also brought in midfielder Harry Franklin from Southern League Evesham United.
Wrexham have loaned out firstyear teenage professionals Jake Bickerstaff, a striker who was previously on Liverpool’s books, and Max Cleworth, a centre back, to
Caernarfon Town.
Bala Town have brought in 28-year-old Wales C midfielder Jack Mackreth from Northern Premier League side Warrington Town, while Cardiff Met have signed Swansea City duo Josh Thomas and
Matthew Blake and TNS’s Lewis Rees for the rest of the season.
Jamie Bird has returned to Barry Town United from Bristol Manor Farm. He played for Barry in the Welsh League in the 2015-16 season while on Cardiff City’s books.