THE fears of the summer returned for the first time when Newport County AFC suffered a 4-1 hammering at the hands of Bradford City in League Two.
The Exiles lost their unbeaten record at Rodney Parade and could have no complaints after a shocking start.
County were 3-0 down after less than half an hour after Andy Cook’s double either side of a Rayhaan Tulloch striker.
Omar Bogle’s cool finish provided a lifeline but the Bantams were never really stressed when recording a win to ease the pressure on former Wales boss Mark Hughes.
They safely secured the spoils and then twisted the knife in added time when Cook powered in a header for his hat-trick.
Here are some talking points after a disheartening afternoon at Rodney Parade…
.@Official_NCFC sitting 🔝 of the table tonight! #EFL | #SkyBetLeagueTwo pic.twitter.com/vXKY7VjE46
— Sky Bet League Two (@SkyBetLeagueTwo) September 23, 2023
DOSE OF REALITY
This was the first time that County, tipped by many to struggle against the drop, have really looked like relegation candidates.
That we are nine league games into the season and have only seen that sort of display once means there is still hope that a club with a meagre budget can still have a relatively stress-free campaign, although they need to get some players out of the physio’s room.
Let's not panic, the Exiles are currently averaging 1.2 points per game, which is similar to what they managed throughout 2022/23.
County have lost four games but unlike against Accrington, Crewe and Crawley there were no crumbs of comfort this time.
Goalkeeper Nick Townsend couldn’t have done anything with the goals and he limited the damage in the first half but nobody else headed home on Saturday evening feeling they had done their job.
However, everybody remains in credit for the season as a whole and they need to brush themselves down and go again for another key stretch of games with struggling Salford on Saturday, then home games with Colchester the following Tuesday and Harrogate on the Saturday.
County have lost successive games just once under Coughlan and that came at Salford last March, the boss won’t want a Moor Lane repeat.
There will be more afternoons like last Saturday but it’s vital the Exiles learn to put such horror shows behind them swiftly.
UNDERCOOKED
Digging out individuals doesn’t really need to be done after such a collective display but its prudent to give some context to the performance of acting captain Declan Drysdale.
The central defender made his first start since April and it was through necessity with Ryan Delaney suspended and Matt Baker and Kyle Jameson injured.
Ideally Drysdale would have been worked more gently towards the XI. Ideally he wouldn’t have been up against Cook.
The striker, who made an untimely return from injury from County’s point of view, showed the quality that won the golden boot and players’ player of the year gong for League Two last season.
Bradford had scored more than one goal just once before Saturday yet they could have scored five in the first half.
Drysdale is a big man but was bullied by Cook throughout and the third goal was horrible, outmuscled and then outpaced by a man who isn’t known for being fleet of foot.
It’s easy to forget that Drysdale has just over half a century of Football League games to his name and the 23-year-old needs to learn from occasions like Saturday, when central defensive partner James Clarke appeared more savvy when dealing with Cook.
Next up is an assignment against giant 6ft 6ins Salford targetman Matt Smith and, with Clarke looking a serious doubt due to injury, Drysdale needs to learn the lessons swiftly if he gets the nod alongside Delaney.
After being sent off at Valley Parade last season he'll just be glad to have chalked off one of the two Bradford games.
LACK OF OPTIONS
Prospective owner Huw Jenkins watched on from the Bisley Stand and the ex-Swansea chairman was given a sign of the work that will be needed in January if he gets the green light for a takeover.
County registered a list of 22 outfield players to the EFL after deadline day and would have a pretty good squad if all were fit.
Instead, they are looking stretched and that will be the case for a number of weeks.
The Exiles were chasing the game in the second half against Bradford but Coughlan and Joe Dunne just didn’t have many game-changing options, certainly not experienced ones.
The average age of the outfield substitutes on Saturday was 20, a figure that went up with the relatively old EFL novice Nathan Wood at 26.
The outfield subs’ combined tally of Football League starts was TWO (Lewis Payne 1, Josh Seberry 0, Kiban Rai 1, Olly Thomas 0, Nathan Wood 0, Matty Bondswell 0).
Young lads are having to learn on the job and arguably it’s only Bondswell that has a major case for being a starter at the moment.
Every team has absentees but County were without two definite first-choice starters in centre-back Delaney and midfielder Harry Charsley plus three possibles in defender Jameson and strikers Seb Palmer-Houlden and Offrande Zanzala.
County can still name an XI that should perform better than they did against Bradford but the absences are denying them bench impact.
At 3-1 a goal would have made it a nervy finish for the Bantams but it never looked likely in pretty dour second half.
FORCED FORMATION
It’s not only the substitute options that are being hit by the lack of numbers, it’s denying County the chance to mix up their shape.
Coughlan opted for three at the back last season after arriving in mid-October and one imagines he would like to go back to it for a more physical, disciplined set-up.
The fact that he is down to the bare bones at the heart of the defence means that it’s a flat four through necessity.
Baker’s return can’t come soon enough but it’s also vital to get the Stoke and Wales U21s defender back properly and for the duration after a hamstring strain.
After shipping 19 goals in nine fixtures, County have the third worst defensive record in the division behind Sutton (21) and Wrexham (20).
They have also conceded four goals in 33 per cent of their games, something that happened in just one of 55 fixtures last season (1.8 per cent).
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