New year, but same old nightmare for County
WYCOMBE ......................... 2 NEWPORT COUNTY ........ 1
NEWPORT COUNTY’S relegation worries continue to mount after they crashed to a seventh straight defeat in League Two.
Mark Randall had given the Exiles the lead against the run of play at Adams Park, but promotion-chasing Wycombe hit back through Sam Wood and sub Paris Cowan-Hall to bag the points.
The defeat also means bottom club County are without a win in nine in all competitions, a nightmare run which started with a 1-0 defeat by Wycombe at Rodney Parade back on November 22.
Manager Graham Westley handed a start up front to new signing Aaron Williams, who joined the club on an 18-month deal from Peterborough United on New Year’s Day.
Wycombe enjoyed most of the ball and looked the more threatening in the first half, although they were unable to make their possession count as County held firm.
The visitors were thankful to keeper Joe Day who produced an excellent reflex save to keep out Wood’s low shot on 32 minutes.
The County stopper was then called into action again six minutes later when Luke O’Nien, having won back possession, fed Paul Hayes, but the Wycombe skipper’s shot was tipped behind.
From the resulting corner, Aaron Pierre’s header lopped over as the sides went in 0-0 at the break without County registering an effort of note.
Day saved again from Wood and then Hayes after the re-start before, out of nothing, County took the lead on the hour mark through Randall.
He dispossessed Pierre as the home side were caught trying pass it out from the back, and then confidently slotted the ball beyond Chairboys’ keeper Scott Brown.
Despite the goal, it was still largely one-way traffic and the hosts levelled it up after 70 minutes – a matter of moments after making a triple substitution.
And it was one of those players brought on, in the shape of Adebayo Akinfenwa, who flicked on Joe Jacobson’s free-kick for Wood, who sent an acrobatic effort beyond Day into the top corner.
With the game now open, Wycombe went in front when Cowan-Hall’s cross-shot from 30 yards looped over Day and into the net and ultimately proved decisive.
Next up for County is a trip to Westley’s former side Stevenage on Saturday.