All the facts you need, ahead of our visit to Plymouth Argyle in the opening game of the Checkatrade Trophy.
Following a good away point at Hartlepool United, the Exiles now turn their attention to the first group game in the newly formatted Checkatrade Trophy.
Looking at the home side
After an extremely slow start to the campaign Plymouth Argyle have now won their last three games in a row and go into this opening match in the group stages of the Checkatrade Trophy full of confidence as they face a Newport side who haven’t won in their last three matches. Nauris Bulvitis’ second goal of the season was enough to give them a victory away at Blackpool but they can also look to Graham Carey, who scored both goals in their 2-0 victory at home to Mansfield.
Getting there
By car: To get to Home Park from Rodney Parade should take just over a couple of hours depending on the traffic levels. Take the M4 to the M49 before joining the M5 Southbound to its end where it becomes the A38 Devon Expressway until the junction with the A386,signposted Home Park, City Centre, Ferry Port, and Tavistock. At the roundabout as you come off the A38 take the second exit A386, signposted Plymouth Argyle Home Park, Ferry Port. Stay on this road for approximately a mile; the stadium is on your left. There is a large free car park that is used on match days at the ground.
By train: To travel by train it is necessary to change at Bristol Temple Meads in order to reach Plymouth. This will then leave you with a short walk from Plymouth train station through Central Park, which is described as one of Plymouth’s best loved recreational areas. However for this fixture there aren’t trains running back towards Bristol after the match and therefore unless you have overnight plans, it is ill advised to travel this way.
Form Guide
Newport County – L L W L D D
Plymouth Argyle – L L L W W W
Upcoming Milestones
Jazzi Barnum-Bobb – 3 appearances for 25 career appearances
Mark Randall – 1 appearance for 125 career appearances
Jon Parkin – 3 goals for 175 career goals
Lenell John-Lewis – 1 goal for 50 career goals
Ben Tozer – 3 appearances for 250 career appearances
Tom Owen-Evans – 4 appearances for 25 career appearances
Sean Rigg – 2 appearances for 375 career appearances
Plymouth’s record against County
Played 6 Won 3 Drawn 2 Lost 1 Goals For 5 Goals Against 4
Monday 28th December 2015: Newport County 1 – 2 Plymouth Argyle (Boden 24’)
Saturday 29th August 2015: Plymouth Argyle 1 – 0 Newport County
Saturday 21st March 2015: Plymouth Argyle 0 – 0 Newport County
Friday 26th December 2014: Newport County 2 – 0 Plymouth Argyle (Zebroski 9’, Byrne 82’)
Tuesday 8th April 2014: Newport County 1 – 2 Plymouth Argyle (Zebroski 27’)
Tuesday 22nd October 2013: Plymouth Argyle 0 – 0 Newport County
Last Meeting
Two second half goals gave Plymouth the victory over Newport despite being a goal down at half time. A goal each for Jake Jervis and Ryan Brunt gave Plymouth the three points and kept them at the top of the table as the season headed into the New Year.
Last Time Out
Two goals and a sending off in the first four minutes of the game was what the 55 Newport fans who made the long trip up to Hartlepool we rewarded with. After Nicky Featherstone put the home side ahead after just two minutes of the match, Aristote Nsiala was sent off for a deliberate handball just a minute later, with Sean Rigg scoring from the resulting free kick. Jon Parking then gave County the lead just before the half hour mark only for the home side to level the game through Padraig Amond with seven minutes of the first half remaining. The point leaves Newport in 18th in the league on five points whilst Hartlepool dropped to 15th with six points.
The Man in Charge
Andy Davies has the whistle for this fixture with his assistants Mark Derrien and Adrian Tranter, the fourth official is Samuel Allison. This season is Davies’ 5th on the list of referees and he was in charge of this exact fixture in the league last year as well as being in the middle for County’s 1-0 defeat away at Leyton Orient in January. In the 2014/15 season he came to Rodney Parade and saw Reggie Lambe give Mansfield Town an 87th minute winner when he tapped in at the back post as well as their 2-1 victory at Field Mill over Newport in the 2013/14 season. Also in that campaign he was in charge for Newport’s FA Cup victory over Braintree when Robbie Willmott scored in the 45th minute. So far this season he has taken charge of 6 games handing out 18 yellow cards and a single red card, to Shane Duffy on the night in Cardiff where he conceded two own goals before being dismissed in stoppage time. In his career he has taken charge of 124 games handing out 439 yellow cards at an average of 3.5 per game. He has also dismissed 22 players.
Around the Grounds (all times 7:45pm unless stated)
Northern Group A
Bolton Wanderers v Everton (7:00pm)
Blackpool v Cheltenham Town
Northern Group B
Chesterfield v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Accrington Stanley v Crewe Alexandra
Northern Group C
Bradford City v Stoke City
Bury v Morecambe (7:00pm)
Northern Group D
Fleetwood Town v Blackburn Rovers
Oldham Athletic v Carlisle United
Northern Group E
Port Vale v Derby County
Mansfield Town v Doncaster Rovers
Northern Group G
Scunthorpe United v Middlesbrough
Shrewsbury Town v Cambridge United
Northern Group H
Sheffield United v Leicester City
Walsall v Grimsby Town
Southern Group A
Bristol Rovers v Reading
Yeovil Town v Portsmouth
Southern Group B
AFC Wimbledon v Swansea City
Southern Group C
Oxford United v Exeter City
Southern Group D
Coventry City v West Ham United
Northampton Town v Wycombe Wanderers
Southern Group E
Charlton Athletic v Southampton
Crawley Town v Colchester United
Southern Group F
Peterborough United v Norwich City (7:30pm)
Milton Keynes Dons v Barnet
Southern Group G
Southend United v Brighton & Hove Albion
Leyton Orient v Stevenage
Southern Group H
Millwall v West Bromwich Albion
Gillingham v Luton Town (7:30pm)