Sidelined Newport County hope for League Two relegation boost

The Exiles, whose home game with AFC Wimbledon last weekend was postponed because of a frozen pitch, were meant to be in action at Grimsby but the Mariners instead head to Luton in the FA Cup.

That means Graham Coughlan’s side must wait until hosting Swindon next Saturday to try and end a six-game winless streak.

They will hope for good news when they watch the scores come in from around the division with five fixtures featuring sides currently in the relegation scrap (16th and 17th-placed Grimsby and Crewe are currently okay given their games in hand).

The League Two standings (Image: EFL)

Clash of the day is at Victoria Park where Hartlepool, currently 22nd in the last safe spot, host 18th-placed Colchester.

The U’s, who are spending big in January, are completely different team to the one that looked a rabble when beaten by Coughlan’s men in the league and FA Cup in the autumn.

They went above the Exiles with a midweek draw against Salford and this month have taken 10 points from a possible 15.

Matt Bloomfield's side have already won at fellow strugglers Harrogate and Rochdale this month and will hope for another positive result on the road.

Hartlepool suffered the same fate as County on Tuesday when beaten 3-1 by promotion-chasing Carlisle in Cumbria.

Keith Curle’s men enjoyed a vital win against Rochdale at Victoria Park last weekend and could do with a repeat on home soil.

Bottom club Rochdale are looking in serious trouble with just one win in their last 10 games and their supporters’ fears will not be helped by looking at the schedule.

They have a run of extremely hard games with Carlisle heading to Spotland today followed by games with three more promotion hopefuls in Salford (away), Northampton (home) and Leyton Orient (away).

Harrogate have a game in hand over the Exiles and will climb above them into 19th with victory when they host Sutton this afternoon. The Yorkshire side haven’t won since Boxing Day.

Crawley have had a month on the sidelines – they haven’t played since being pegged back by County’s late comeback for a 2-2 draw on January 2.

The Red Devils have had games against Doncaster, Sutton and Grimsby postponed; Scott Lindsey left Swindon for Sussex on January 11 and will look to finally get his reign under way with a home game against Salford.

Swindon host Gillingham, who have also spent big to try and beat the drop.

League Two fixtures: AFC Wimbledon v Stockport, Barrow v Northampton, Crawley v Salford, Harrogate v Sutton, Hartlepool v Colchester, Mansfield v Doncaster, Rochdale v Carlisle, Swindon v Gillingham, Tranmere v Leyton Orient.