Newport County AFC will be looking for a considerable response to a first league defeat of the campaign when they travel to Macclesfield Town on Tuesday night. The Exiles saw a club record unbeaten Football League run come to an end against Northampton Town on Saturday so they’ll be looking to restart a run, while the home side will be searching for another positive result to continue their good start to the season.
Here, you can find all the facts and statistics ahead of this League Two encounter…
How they’ve started the League Two campaign
Macclesfield Town have made a solid start to the 2019/20 campaign and currently sit in 13th position having accrued 11 points from the opening eight matches.
The Silkmen only secured one victory in their opening 17 matches last season so there has definitely been an improvement this time around – they’ve won three already against Leyton Orient, Northampton Town and Scunthorpe United.
Back to back draws against Stevenage and Crawley Town make up their other positive results, while they have suffered defeats against Exeter City, Morecambe and Swindon Town.
Team News
Macclesfield Town manager Daryl McMahon will have to decide whether he wants to rotate his squad on Tuesday night after the Silkmen’s positive start to the campaign has become overshadowed by a couple of successive defeats in recent matches.
Assistant Head Coach Danny Whitaker confirmed during his press duties on Friday evening that Macclesfield had no injury concerns, but changes could be made to the squad from the weekend.
Macclesfield Town team vs Swindon Town (4-2-3-1): Evans, Vassell, Kelleher (C), Horsfall, Welch-Hayes, Kirby (Gnahoua 45’), Harris, O’Keeffe, Osadebe, Archibald (Ntambwe 45’), Ironside (Gomis 77’)
One to Watch – Joe Ironside
A summer signing to fill the void of Harry Smith’s departure for Northampton Town, striker Joe Ironside will be hoping to forge a successful career in the Football League having spent most of his prior time in the non-league.
An academy graduate of Sheffield United, the 25-year old made 23 appearances for the Blades before going on to play for Halifax Town, Harrogate Town, Alfreton Town, Hartlepool United, Nuneaton Town, York City and Kidderminster Harriers.
It was with the Harriers that he made a name for himself – netting 48 times from 96 appearances – attracting the interest of the Cobblers who snapped up his services for an undisclosed fee.
Manager – Daryl McMahon
Following Sol Campbell’s shock departure in the opening few weeks of the season, Irishman Daryl McMahon was quickly brought in as his successor and he’s made a solid start so far.
This is his first managerial opportunity in the Football League, and he has won two of his seven matches in charge at the Silkmen, losing the same amount and drawing the other three.
Once a coach at Premier League heavyweights Tottenham Hotspur, McMahon’s only previous managerial experience came with Ebbsfleet United, who he won promotion to the National League with in 2016/17.
Stadium – Moss Rose
One of the smaller stadiums in League Two, The Moss Rose has a current capacity of 6,355 mixed between terracing and seated sections. It has seen higher attendances previously, with the record attendance being set in 1967 when they hosted Winsford United in-front of 9,008 spectators.
It is also one of the oldest stadiums currently in the Football League having first opened in 1891, hosting Macclesfield Town ever since across the various divisions they’ve occupied in that time.
Despite its ample history, County have only visited the Cheshire three times – once in an FA Trophy Quarter Final against Northwich Victoria and twice against the Silkmen. Last season, 305 supporters made the trip on Easter Monday.
Meetings between the two sides in 2018/19
Two battling draws between the sides last season who couldn’t be separated at either Rodney Parade or Moss Rose during the 2018/19 campaign.
The first contest came in South Wales as County and Macclesfield shared a six-goal thriller on October 2nd. Three penalties were awarded in an end to end game which finished with a dramatic stoppage time equaliser from Jamille Matt, preventing the Silkmen a first league victory of the campaign. Dan Butler and Mickey Demetriou also scored.
In the reverse fixture, a 0-0 draw in Cheshire worked wonders for both teams as County desperately needed a result in their play-off push and Macclesfield were hoping to stave off relegation.
In an uneventful contest, Scot Bennett’s deflected strike in the second half required saving from Manchester United loanee Kieran O’Hara but that was about it from a cagey fixture.
Officials
Referee: Graham Salisbury
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Hilton
Assistant Referee 2: David Hunt
Fourth Official: Andrew Hendley
A highly experienced Football League official, Graham Salisbury is remarkably embarking on his 19th season as a referee having first officiated a match in League Two on 11th August 2001 as Mansfield Town and Hartlepool United played out a 1-1 draw.
Someone who has refereed in the Championship during that prolonged career, Salisbury has taken charge of six matches thus far this campaign, brandishing 18 yellow cards, the last game of which came on Saturday as AFC Wimbledon and Shrewsbury Town played out a 1-1 draw.
That follows on from refereeing a total of 35 games during the 2018/19 campaign, a season in which Salisbury brandished 120 yellow cards and four red cards throughout the entirety of the campaign.
County Connection
Salisbury has refereed a match involving Newport County AFC on eight previous occasions in League Two. The Exiles have a relatively good record in those prior contests, winning four, drawing two and losing the remaining two.
Last season, Salisbury only presided over one County match and it saw them beat Mansfield Town 1-0 at Rodney Parade on February 9th 2019. Mickey Demetriou, Padraig Amond and Joss Labadie were all cautioned.
In 2017/18, a further two fixtures had Salisbury as the man in the middle and they both resulted in 2-1 victories for County. The Exiles won at Grimsby Town on January 18th and had five played booked, while only Frank Nouble saw yellow in the victory over Cambridge United on April 28th.
Onto 2016/17 and again just the one fixture was taken charge of by Salisbury, this time an entertaining 2-2 draw with Barnet. Goal scorer Ben Tozer, Mark Randall and Jennison Myrie-Williams saw cards brandished in their direction.
A further two fixtures were overseen by Salisbury in 2015/16 but they weren’t the best results for the Exiles. County battled to a 0-0 draw at Dagenham & Redbridge on September 19th, before suffering a heavy 4-1 home defeat against Bristol Rovers on March 19th – Darren Jones and Mark Byrne booked.
Salisbury officiated another fixture in 2014/15 and brings about the other County defeat in a 2-1 reverse at Stevenage. Chris Zebroski was dismissed alongside yellows for Kevin Feely and Robbie Willmott on March 7th.
That just leaves the first County game refereed by Salisbury and it came on 19th October 2013 in a routine 3-0 victory over York City at Rodney Parade. Lenny Pidgeley and Adam Chapman were booked.
Other League Two fixtures that evening (All 7:45pm kick-offs)
Carlisle United vs Forest Green Rovers
Cheltenham Town vs Bradford City
Crawley Town vs Plymouth Argyle
Exeter City vs Port Vale
Leyton Orient vs Crewe Alexandra
Mansfield Town vs Crewe Alexandra
Mansfield Town vs Cambridge United
Morecambe vs Walsall
Salford City vs Grimsby Town
Scunthorpe United vs Oldham Athletic
Stevenage vs Northampton Town
Swindon Town vs Colchester United
Can’t make the match?
You can follow along on social media using @NCAFCLive on Twitter, or via the Club’s official Facebook, Snapchat (OfficialExiles) and Instagram pages.
Don’t forget – if you reside outside of the UK, you can watch the game live by subscribing to County’s iFollow service. Commentary by Tim Thraves can also be found at the Match Centre from 7.30pm.
An on-the-whistle match report of this match will be provided on the club website upon the end of the game. Michael Flynn’s post-match analysis will appear on the website the day after the game, while you can watch all of Flynn’s post-match press conference as-well as two County players by subscribing to #iFollowExiles.