County 0 Barrow 2

5:47pm Saturday 19th January 2013 in Sport

INJURY WORRY: County striker Aaron O'Connor INJURY WORRY: County striker Aaron O'Connor

NEWPORT County AFC missed the chance to return to the top of the Blue Square Bet Premier as they slumped to a shock home defeat to relegation-threatened Barrow, who started the day bottom of the table.

The game only went ahead after more than 120 home fans helped clear snow off the Rodney Parade pitch on Saturday morning.

But the Exiles offered their fans little reward for their efforts as Matthew Flynn tapped in after a corner to give Barrow a half-time lead.

And as they pushed for a leveller after the break County were caught on the counter and Danny Rowe sealed a precious three points for the Bluebirds.

As well as being left to reflect on another damaging home defeat, County manager Justin Edinburgh will also be sweating on the fitness of Aaron O'Connor after the Conference top scorer was stretchered off in the first half.

Edinburgh opted not to speak to the media after the match.

Comments(33)

jetspotter says...
6:26pm Sat 19 Jan 13

Can anyone explain what's going on with this team ?

Report this post »

ohc says...
6:58pm Sat 19 Jan 13

Its Newport County simple as that.

Report this post »

ex-St. Julians boy says...
7:06pm Sat 19 Jan 13

Perhaps it might have been better if the supporters hadn't turned up this morning to help clear the snow away. I'm not surprised JE chose not to speak to the press post-match. He's probably far too embarrassed.

Report this post »

CountyValleyboy says...
7:10pm Sat 19 Jan 13

Too inconsistent----- too many long balls------cannot keep a clean sheet !
Promotion team?----not on this performance !

Report this post »

larneman says...
7:11pm Sat 19 Jan 13

A 150 brave volunteers worked hard in freezing cold weather to help clear the pitch. I am so proud of those guys. What a shame the manager and his team let them down so badly. In the County's vocabulary there are 2 words missing. CLEAN and SHEET. we are desperately in need of 4 defenders who have some idea about how to defend. To put it mildly County were WHIPPED. I realised that we were beaten when Edinburgh brought on Washington. That's a pattern that has happened just lately. That's when the Manager has given up. He might as well bring on the tea lady. Well done to the volunteers God Bless you all.

Report this post »

portforever says...
7:13pm Sat 19 Jan 13

get the donkeys who played to clear the pitch next time, disgrace,,,,

Report this post »

sooty001 says...
7:23pm Sat 19 Jan 13

What a great show, I am of course talking about those wonderful people who turned up to clear the pitch this morning,thank you very much. As for my comments on the game UNPRINTABLE.

Report this post »

portforever says...
7:25pm Sat 19 Jan 13

yes well done for clearing the pitch, shame the players could not show the same spirit..

Report this post »

llandaff says...
7:28pm Sat 19 Jan 13

It has worried me for a long time that County are a one man team! I was proved right today. Poor Aaron O'Connor goes off injured and the whole game plan collapses. There was no contingency plan in evidence. The midfield was woeful. Pipe had a nightmare game against feeble opposition and the much-heralded Jolley was a downright disappointment.
The so-called defense was absolutely wide open YET AGAIN! Why were the substitutions not made at half time when it was pretty obvious that several players were just not cutting it? This was a golden opportunity lost. It is time to stop making excuses and actually spend some cash on a few defenders before we drop out of the playoffs altogether. Amazingly we are still in a very flattering second place in the league, but County cannot keep relying on the other teams having bad results to keep them there, as was the case today.

Report this post »

jiffygeorge says...
8:22pm Sat 19 Jan 13

I said after the Lincoln win 'let's not get carried away' as Lincoln had six players injured or suspended, but even I did not expect this result. Results versus Yate (in cup) in particular, Welling, Hyde, Barrow and other average sides show we are just not good enough and the manager has never addressed manifest weaknesses in midfield which have been present all season. We should still be good enough to maintain a play-off position (just) but we won't be going up, NO CHANCE.

Report this post »

jetspotter says...
8:38pm Sat 19 Jan 13

Yes it's such a shame. I think history will show that this has been a pretty weak division and County,or any other promoted team, will struggle in the higher echelon with the current players. I,and several others, have repeatedly complained about both the teams shocking inconsistency and the nature of the of the defeats this season. From the commentary it sounded like only a brilliant save stopped them going behind earlier in the game. Come on J.E. you are obviously a talented manager but everyone and their dog can see that the County defense simply aren't up to the job. You were an ace defender and surely you know how to stop the rot at this comparatively low grade ! Time for the hairdryer I suspect !!

Report this post »

michaelgdn says...
10:12pm Sat 19 Jan 13

Nothing new, as I forescast last week, a pitiful weak and leaky defence that cannot allow goal scoring chances to mature.

Word has got around the division,let Newport attack defend and then breakaway.

Stop the rot and spend as wisely as is possible but do not be mean at the expense
of promotion, that is foolishness.

Michael G

Report this post »

COUNTYVOICE says...
12:53am Sun 20 Jan 13

have to agree with some of the comments the contributors have made above

i bet the hardy souls who cleared that pitch and terracing had wished they hadnt bothered now.

to reward such efforts with a performance like that is criminal.

how many more inconsistent performances have to be endured.

talk about jekly and hyde team. 5-0 loss one game , then 1-1 with wrexham and a 4-2 win, then a very disappointing 2-0 defeat against the bottom team who had lost 6-1 to wrexham.

they not only won but outplayed a county side bereft of ideas, and imagination.

WHY DO THEY KEEP SWITCHING OFF. jolley was a virtual spectator today, pipe had more chance of an accurate cross , but putting on his ST CHRISTOPHER.

no effort, no commitment, no energy. not attributes for a side at the top of the league

theres so much potential there, county can be unbeatable on the day, but the consistency has not been there since YATEGATE, nor the CONFIDENCE.

a chance for redemption at woking on tuesday, but the players need to seriously look themselves in the mirror, and ask some searching questions, cos this type of display is simply not good enough.

Report this post »

cambridge4x4 says...
2:03am Sun 20 Jan 13

Firstly, well done to those who cleared the surface of snow. The players should be donating a weeks wage to all those whose effort went unrewarded.
What amazes me is how a fully professional football team , who train full time can come up with a performace like this. How many hours per week do they train ? , because this long ball needs about 10 minutes talking about in Weatherspoons on Friday evening. You do not need full timers to play this game. In an interview last week the young player Conor Washington says he wakes up 5 hours later than he did as a postman . He lives in a flat in Cardiff. Sounds like training starts whenever you feel like turning up . He thinks he is is heaven .
I suggest some of these players need a final written warning or be shown the door . It is a totally unacceptable performance .They need a few 7.30 am early mornings at Spytty in the freezing cold to understand they are professionals and need to start to play football and crush sides like Barrow.
Maybe a good boot camp is what some of them need to bring them back in to the real world.
Not picking on young Conor but his thoughts about what a professional footballers life is all about, should be quickly removed from his brain .
Over 2100 turned up and JE needs to act ---talking about poor performance and disappointing is not enough . We have waited since 1989 to put put this right and it looks as if our best chance is about to be thrown out on to Maesglas tip. Please do not let it happen .

Report this post »

RSATaffy says...
7:01am Sun 20 Jan 13

Firstly appologies to webb89!! Can we borrow your crystal ball - although I don't think one is needed tp predict the outcome at the end of the season. Hopefuly those people who cleared the pitch were sufficiently tired to sleep through the horror show! 8 goals against and 1 scored in the last 3 home games speaks volumes for where the problems are.

Report this post »

netala says...
10:16am Sun 20 Jan 13

i , like the other 2 thousand, who were at the game ,will feel as if we have been let down by a team that went onto the pitch, thinking they only had to turn up to get the points.the overall performance of the team was abysmal. it would be a good gesture, if the club offered to return the gate receits to the home supporters, the away ones would gladly pay more, for watching that pantomime.it was more embarassing than the forest green game , at leat F.G. were near the top of the league, not rock bottom like barrow.the board must throw out this attitude of economic restraint, and buy players who can hack it at this level and above. if the teams who are looking at mr.evans want him please come and get him along with, the likes of hughes, minshull, jullian and washington. they were the worst of a bad bunch, and not just on yesterdays game. if he can`t see we need experienced defenders, well he should have gone to specsavers.

Report this post »

the dork says...
10:45am Sun 20 Jan 13

sad

Report this post »

venga says...
11:17am Sun 20 Jan 13

Get a grip you commenters! It's only a game of football, nobody died, nobody is being locked up it will all be forgotten quicker than you can say "Life isn't so bad compared to what some people have to go through". Get over it and take up knitting or something, just a bunch of men chasing a bag of wind not doctors or nurses working long hours, or emergency services laying their lives on the line. What if County do get into the league, it wont be long before we start moaning about them there too! Plenty of games left to play in a weak division, other "top" sides are dropping points also.

Report this post »

COUNTYVOICE says...
11:46am Sun 20 Jan 13

what you fail to grasp venga is that fans do care about their clubs, and football to some is a way of life.

it is only a game at the end of day, but to some it means a hell of alot, show some respect

Report this post »

NakedDancer says...
11:57am Sun 20 Jan 13

A truly awful performance by County against a rubbish team. How did Barrow just pass their way into the county net twice ?

Max Porter was sorely missed. Willmott was useless, why did JE keep him on after half time. Swallow did ok off the bench.

I think the criticism of Alan Julian is over the top though. Unfortunately he'll be remembered for the clanger against Luton but County won that game. He didn't do anything wrong against Barrow and made an excellent 1 on 1 save early on that Barrow should have scored. With such a weak defence he is being peppered by shots most weeks and he made some outstanding saves at Lincoln. Being ridiculed from the terraces during the game surely wont help him or the team.

Report this post »

COUNTYVOICE says...
12:12pm Sun 20 Jan 13

julien is a good shot stopper , but he cannot make his mind up when the ball is played into the box, he flaps, and then mistakes happen.

county did miss max porter , and ismail yakubu and CAPTAIN FANTASTIC DAVID PIPE had his worse game for awhile, i think he was trying to get a few penalties and conversions.

Report this post »

fester says...
12:27pm Sun 20 Jan 13

Sad but since October 9th when we beat Ebbsfleet, in all games, we have played 16 won 5 drawn 3 and lost 8!
Not a promotion side on those results.

Report this post »

COUNTYVOICE says...
2:29pm Sun 20 Jan 13

nice ditty jetspotter, put a smile on my face

Report this post »

ohc says...
2:45pm Sun 20 Jan 13

One has to start asking questions of the Manager. We get lurches in form and teams adopting tactics to counter our style. JE seems unable react when they show in play. He doesnt seems actually to take much action at all. Perhaps I am unfair, the master at United seems sometimes to show the same.

For those suffering anguish try my philosophy: I dont and never have expected County to get promoted. If they do its a bonus but they will quickly be back to struggling with poor gates and an unconvincing squad in Div 2 terms

What a great buy Jolley is proving to be. Did he get a shot on Saturday? Never understood all the fuss.

Report this post »

COUNTYVOICE says...
2:48pm Sun 20 Jan 13

cannot question edinburghs ability

he and his shrewd signings have got us to second position from relegation fodder.

there is only so much he can do its up to the players to stand up and be counted.

and on several occasions since YATEGATE the players have not responded and let everyone down.

Report this post »

the dork says...
4:11pm Sun 20 Jan 13

very sad

Report this post »

jetspotter says...
4:57pm Sun 20 Jan 13

Thanks C.V. appreciate your comment.

Seems to me that we do have some decent goalscorers but they struggle against defenses which are happy to soak up our attacks by defending in depth and then counter attack at speed. The word is out that these are the tactics to employ against us and unsurprisingly this is the tactic teams are employing when they come to Rodney Parade. For obvious reasons we get more space away from home and find it much easier to score goals. My tactic at home would be to allow the opposition to come forward more to try to create space at the back for our forwards to exploit. I've always thought the same when watching England (sorry chaps) they look good for twenty minutes but if they fail to score they get confused and run around like headless chickens for the rest of the game ! County are too anxious to please the home fans by trying too hard at the start instead of relaxing into the game and gradually overcoming the opposition with superior skills.We need to build up fortress R.P. or we are in danger of seeing the season slip away. I really do believe we are a decent team but we have got to start playing with more composure and be content with simply getting a result even if we have to do it through sheer graft and application. Results are everything at the moment and our skills can only be exploited on the back of getting the fundamentals right. Win the ball, keep the ball, and don't let the opposition get so much as a sniff of it !!

Report this post »

larneman says...
6:26pm Sun 20 Jan 13

Sorry but I will miss the tueday game. I have taken up knitting. So I will be going through the bunny hole that night. besides "Death in paradise" is on. and I don't want to miss it.

Report this post »

bridgexile says...
8:13pm Sun 20 Jan 13

Well! we got in the car, better half and myself we drove to the match from Bristol looking forward to the game to see our "Unplayable" front three.A mere formality to go back to the top? I've been watching County since i was a kid in the 60's, Carl Zeis, Gloucester, Moreton blah de blah.....and in a season where we have destroyed teams like Luton etc..we manage to conjure up Yate Town and Forest Green disasters outplay Kidderminster and still manage to concede three poor goals, when we played so well. So inconsistent we have become, it is really alarming. The Conference is there for the taking this year! HOW MUCH DOES THE MANAGER AND HIS PLAYERS REALLY WANT IT???. THE REAL COUNTY FANS SO DESERVE IT!

For me the Barrow game was a matter of poor attitude and preparation. OH how we missed Max Porter dictating from midfeld? The front men never had a look in? County were clueless in midfield, lumping long balls all afternoon Barrow were quicker, more determined showed better touch and technique. When O'Connor went off we really went down the sink! Pipe got worse and worse as the game went on, so did Sandell who clearly lacks ten yards of pace to play in that position? The keeper is a disaster designate?? Barrow thoroughly deserved the points. County were so alarmingly clueless all over the pitch it was bizarre to watch, no plan, no plan B! no method to fall back on! when you know they are so much better than that. Ediurgh needs to get real with some of the squad - I'm going to bring my boots and save Washington getting his dirty at age 60 I could do better.Clueless is not a word? It's not the lad's fault?? blame the manager! I will also show the lot of them how to take efective corner kicks - we are clueless!!

The manager needs to get the Yak and Porter back ASAP, get Hughes on the flank and get Pipe to grow up, act like a Captain out on the pitch and stop openely critisising his team mates when his own limitations are there for everyone to see. Porter must come back into the team and Sandell should be moved forward. He is no defender that's for sure. The joke keeper has to go and stick Pidgeley back in there quickly. The managers citisism of him after Yate was so far over the top! County need a couple of realy good dependable defenders and quickly,then Edinburgh will have a proper platform and a fall-back to go on a run. Start looking under your nose Edinburgh? There are lot of talented boys playing Welsh league to give County some Welsh pride!

Sometimes when we are going forward we really look as though we can beat anyone in that league and clearly we can lose to anyone in that league. Has any team with these characteritics ever been promoted?

We have a great chance this year no stand-out moneybags teams dominating? Urgent action is needed else we are going to see our pack of cards crumble at the slightest hint of trouble!!

For Edinburgh not manning-up to the media gives the players and supporters a lack of respect" Manup Edinburgh it's your mess- sort it out!
You only sing when your winning??
The real Couny fans don't for sure I heard them singing at the end of the Barrow game!

And guess what? It's all opinions!

Regardless I will keep paying my tolls and shouting for the boys!! Come on the Port!!

Report this post »

COUNTYVOICE says...
9:05pm Sun 20 Jan 13

i think the attitude was all wrong . someone made the comment earlier of "lets just turn up on the pitch and we have the three points"

barrow had the hunger for victory, they knew their survival in the league depended on it, they played as a TEAM.

county seem to want to go up in some games , and then leave their ambition at home in another.

i would have expected them to be fired up, TOP OF THE LEAGUE CHANCE, JOLLEY IN THE SIDE TO INSPIRE A WIN. THE DESIRE TO CRACK ON AND BUILD A LEAD AT THE TOP OVER THE NEXT 5 GAMES AGAINST MID TABLE OR BELOW.

yet it wasnt there yesterday. the contributor above is right, a couple of key stalwarts in the side are missing and the side looses its structure and passion.

the spark was missing yesterday. county players thinking they had the right to be 1-0 up in the first 10 mins.

this league is WIDE OPEN this year, and a team that can string 5-6 wins together at the top will probably win it.COUNTY GET YOUR ARSES INTO GEAR and let that side be you.

looking for a much better performance at woking at tuesday, or edinburgh tell the players they face the chop.

Report this post »

county mad says...
7:45am Mon 21 Jan 13

*#&*#$)+;-()+)));?&$
$*%)*?hell!!!!!!!

Report this post »

county mad says...
7:45am Mon 21 Jan 13

*#&*#$)+;-()+)));?&$
$*%)*?hell!!!!!!!

Report this post »

MazYork says...
10:18pm Thu 24 Jan 13

Stop moaning and get supporting - look where we were this time last season - ok we all expected to beat Barrow but these games happen to every team, so man up and support the 'Port!

Report this post »

click2find

Get Adobe Flash player
About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree