NEWPORT County AFC’s season at Rodney Parade finished with a 1-0 defeat to Notts County in Sky Bet League Two.

Genaro Snijders’ goal five minutes before the break was enough to give the Magpies all three points.

Warren Feeney made no fewer than seven changes to his starting line-up for today's clash.

In came Kieran Parselle, Tommy O'Sullivan, Janoi Donacien, Dean Morgan, Tom Owen-Evans, Matt Partridge and Souleymane Coulibaly.

Out went Darren Jones, Ben Davies, Alex Rodman, Scott Boden, Mark Byrne, Lenell John-Lewis and Andrew Hughes.

Davies, Boden, Byrne and John-Lewis dropped to the bench while the other three didn't feature at all in the matchday 18.

Tom Meechan and Liam Angel did come into the 18 and took their places among the substitutes, with Danny Holmes skippering the hosts in Byrne’s absence.

Notts County fielded a couple of players with Premier League experience in keeper Roy Carroll and striker Jon Stead, the latter captaining the Magpies.

Coulibaly, the scorer in the 1-1 draw at Luton a week earlier, was presented with an early half-chance but missed his kick and the visitors cleared.

But 10 minutes in and Newport were handed a great opportunity to take the lead.

Morgan chested the ball past an onrushing Carroll and with the goal seemingly at his mercy he fired his shot wide of the target.

Morgan was involved again soon after, finding space in the box before his effort was blocked by Haydn Hollis, while Coulibaly then wasted a glorious opening.

He had done everything right in wriggling free of several defenders and finding space in the area, only when the time was right to shoot he didn’t and the chance was lost.

At the other end, Joe Day had been relatively untroubled by the Magpies.

The only real save he had to make in the opening quarter was a long-range effort from Graham Burke that needed to be turned around the post.

But with someone like Stead to defend against, Newport knew that any ball into the box was a potential threat.

And five minutes before half-time the former Blackburn and Sunderland man played a part in his side taking the lead.

A high cross into the Newport box should have been dealt with much better by Joe Day.

However, when he flapped at the ball under pressure from Stead, Snijders found himself with virtually an open goal to aim at.

He made no mistake, despite the desperate attempts of a Newport player on the line.

Like the first half, the second period began with the hosts on the front foot as Morgan broke down the left following a nice touch from Coulibaly.

Unlike his strike partner, Morgan managed to get a shot in, but he left it that split second too late and his effort was blocked.

There was a nearly a spectacular second for the visitors when Elliot Hewitt’s right-wing cross was met on the volley by Stead and Day watched as the ball flew just past his left-hand post.

The industrious Scott Barrow, who worked tirelessly down the left all afternoon, almost levelled things up, only for his curling side-footer to be headed away by Haydn Hollis as it looked to be arrowing towards the top corner.

It was then Hewitt’s turn to be the saviour for Notts County. Coulibaly squeezed through a gap scuffed a shot past Carroll but Hewitt raced back to clear off the line.

Feeney swapped Byrne for Owen-Evans and Scott Boden for Morgan in the space of seven minutes. He would also bring on John-Lewis for Partridge with 18 minutes left.

You couldn’t keep Notts County’s Hollis out of the action and he was in the right place at the right time again to save his side when Medy Elito met a cross to the far post and the Magpies’ man deflected the ball wide.

The visitors tested Day on a couple of occasions after that, with Blair Adams’ corner nearly catching out the keeper at his far post.

In truth, the closing stages of the game, particularly the last 15 minutes passed by without much incident.

Newport’s three substitutes lifted the hosts slightly but the end result wasn’t what the Exiles fans were hoping for.

Notts County replacement Adam Campbell nearly made their day even more miserable as he fired a shot in injury-time which struck the outside of the post.

Newport: Day, Holmes, Barrow, Parselle, Donacien, Partridge, O'Sullivan, Elito, Owen-Evans, Morgan, Coulibaly. Subs: Green, Davies, John-Lewis, Boden, Meechan, Byrne, Angel.

Notts County: Carroll, Adams, Smith, Hollis, Snijders, Hewitt, Valencic, Burke, Atkinson, Stead, Edwards. Subs: Loach, Amevor, Campbell, Boyce, Audel, Gibson, McLeod.

Bookings: Newport – Morgan (dissent)

Referee: Nicholas Kinseley

Attendance: 4,903 (391 from Notts County)