Newport County 2-1 Crewe Alex 24/25 Review - Patchy

2 away games for me and 2 defeats, which is frustrating. Today felt like a missed opportunity for the Alex to pick up another result against an out of form opponent, as sloppy defensive mistakes and a lack of cutting edge in attack meant they came up short against Newport in South Wales. Here is my thoughts from the game:

Patchy

Lee Bell was surprisingly critical of his side's performance. I fully expected an upbeat "we've just had a good run, we go again" sort of post match interview, but he called the teams display patchy and I think it was very fair. They had some promising moments upfront, but struggled to really test Nick Townsend. They looked relatively solid at the back, but still conceded 2 and were an inch away from going 2-0 down just before they equalised.

There was nobody who stunk out the place, but nobody who really shone either. Some players looked leggy and faded, but were still involved. Patchy I think is a very fair assessment of what transpired.

Injuries

The biggest talking point both before, during and after the game were injuries. It's the chickens coming home to roost I'm afraid. Bogle wasn't passed fit to make the squad and he was joined by Conor Thomas and Matus Holicek, who both didn't make the 18. That depleted their depth to the point that they named Fin Roberts and Adrien Thibaut on the bench.

Then during the game, both Joel Tabiner and Kane Hemmings limped off after sustaining what looked like ankle injuries. If the 4 newly injured players aren't fit for Gillingham and Long and Bogle remain out, they'll be down a total of 8 contracted players, of which 3 will be players we knew were injury prone before they were given new deals/signed as free agents.

It's frustrating that results are being dropped in part due to issues we could all see coming.

Impact

That being said, it wasn't all bad. The introductions of Breckin, Thibaut and Roberts were positives. Breckin was lively in midfield and Roberts made some nice runs late on which almost resulted in chances. Thibaut was the pick of the bunch. A tight offside denied him a goal on his EFL debut with his first touch, but he wasn't to be denied as he pounced on a Ryan Cooney cross to eventually get his goal. It was a great moment and it was easily the highlight of the afternoon.

Other aspects of the afternoon were good. They played some good football at times, the attacking intent was there. It wasn't a shocking performance.

Switched Off

However, some of their defending, in particular in the 2 goals they conceded, was poor. On the first, Newport were able to bypass the Alex's midfield, get to the edge of the box and their RB was able to crack one in from 25 yards. Then on the 2nd, a cross isn't stopped and Max Conway failed to challenge for the ball, allowing Baker the easiest of headers into the far corner.

That goal was the killer. It sucked all the momentum out of the Alex and in truth, they never looked like equalising a 2nd time. To concede 3 minutes after you've scored was poor and it can't happen.

Ref Assessment

Hilariously bad. Booked Knight-Lebel early when he didn't need to. Got countless decisions wrong and once again bought Newport's flopping. He even got a couple on Newport wrong too, namely the ones late in the first half where Cooney was fairly dispossessed and then Tabiner seemed to kick their defender, not the other way round. Alan Young, you're card is marked.

Management Assessment

You can't blame them for what they put out nor the subs made, as they were limited both by what they had on the bench and by the players that had to come off. But what I will blame them for is being down 3 injury prone players by late September, something we could have seen a mile away. Totally avoidable.

Player Assessment

Filip Marschall

A shaky game from him. He almost gave away a comical opener when the ball bounced over his head, only to be saved by Demetriou's incredible last ditch challenge. Thankfully he bounced back and he could little with both the goals.

Jamie Knight-Lebel

Picked up an early booking, which should never have been one. He settled down after that and tried to get involved at attacking set pieces.

Mickey Demetriou

Did his best to avoid being on the losing side with a typical all action display. He deserved better.

Zac Williams

He kicked on after the Alex fell behind a 2nd time, but I wanted to see more of those driving runs to support Conway earlier in the game.

Ryan Cooney MOTM

A solid afternoon where he got the assist on Thibaut's goal and was a real threat going forward.

Max Sanders

I thought he did ok, but why on earth is he still on set pieces? His free kicks in particular were atrocious. Put anyone else on them please.

Joel Tabiner

Tried to make things happen, I wonder if the clattering he took late in the first half was what saw him withdrawn early in the 2nd half? He was quiet and Breckin was more involved unfortunately.

Max Conway

There is a lot to like about Conway, but I'm worried about his lack of fitness and mobility. He looked knackered after 60 minutes and he struggled to get up and down the pitch, which is surely the core of what being a wing back is about. He also got out jumped for the Newport winner.

Jack Lankester

Another who had a mixed day. His involvement in the goal was superb, but he also got a booking for dissent and had to be warned to calm down. Still, he was lively, even if he did fade as the game went into the final stages.

Kane Hemmings

There is a lot to like about Hemmings and he was unlucky to roll his ankle when he did. But do we start questioning why, the moment Thibaut came on, he had the ball in net twice whilst Hemmings couldn't manage a single shot? Still, hopefully he isn't out long.

Shilow Tracey

I said above that nobody was actively bad. I was wrong, Tracey was. He was horrendous, doing his best Bass Sambou impression. Every decision he made was wrong. He's lucky the Alex are missing most of their attackers, as he shouldn't still be starting games.

Subs

Kian Breckin

Looked lively in midfield, he had more touches in 39 minutes than Tabiner did in 51. He should start next week, regardless of who alongside.

Adrien Thibaut

Denied a goal with his first touch, he got it eventually and I'm delighted for him. He deserves a few more opportunities from the bench.

Callum Agius

Came on and looked to generate attacks, but he didn't have much success. The Alex might need him in the coming weeks.

Fin Roberts

He was bright and lively, making some smart runs down the left. He's another who deserves to get more appearances off the bench.

Overall Verdict

A bad day at the office. Injuries, some mixed performances and a missed opportunity to pick up something against an out of form Newport. Now they go into October not in the best shape squad wise against some tough opponents, needing to start a new unbeaten run. Where they go from here, we'll have to wait and see.