Newport County will hope to bounce back from consecutive defeats over the Easter Weekend when they travel to Blundell Park to take on Grimsby Town (3pm).
Graham Coughlan made one change for our game against the Mariners, with Seb Palmer-Houlden returning to the side, playing up front alongside Offrande Zanzala and Will Evans.
The return of Omar Bogle after a spell on the sidelines gave Newport fans a reason to cheer on Monday afternoon and the striker will hope to get more match action against his former club this weekend.
Manager’s Comments
Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Coughlan said: “We’ve got five games left and we’ve got to roll our sleeves up and get through it. We can’t use injuries as an excuse, we’ve got to give a good account of ourselves because that’s all people will remember.
“It’s about how you finish the season not about how you start it. It’s the same as that in every race and in every competition.
“I want us to finish strong and I want us to finish with pride, not with a whimper. With pride and with passion - the way they have represented the club all season. They’ve got to understand the importance of the last few games and where it puts us.
You can watch Graham Coughlan's full pre-match press conference HERE.
Opposition Form
David Artell’s Grimsby take to the field on Saturday in the midst of an increasingly tense relegation battle. The Mariners sit two points clear of the drop zone in 21st place and will be watching over their shoulders this weekend as Sutton, Forest Green, and Colchester look to build on recent wins.
A run of one win in six games has seen Grimsby sleepwalk back into this battle, with the team’s solitary win in that run being a scrappy 1-0 victory over promotion-chasing MK Dons on March 12th.
Easter weekend was not too kind to the team, with them picking up just one point from their double-header away at Barrow and at home to Bradford.
Denver Hume, a regular in the side since signing from Portsmouth in January, will miss Saturday’s game following a late sending off against Bradford.
Danny Rose’s first 90 minutes since a brief spell on the sidelines on Easter Monday will have given the Mariners cause for optimism, while Justin Obikwu will look to continue on a good run of form, with the on-loan striker netting three times in his last six.
Ticket Info
You can find out about tickets for Saturday’s trip to Grimsby Town HERE.
Last Time Out
Match Highlights | Newport County v Grimsby Town
Our last clash with Grimsby took place a week before Christmas at Rodney Parade. The two teams battled for a hard-earned point, with Omar Bogle breaking the deadlock in the 72nd minute, only for Danny Rose to equaliser for the visitors five minutes later.
Head to Head
We have played Grimsby Town 35 times since our first encounter over 100 years ago in 1921. Grimsby won 15 of these matches, we won 12, and 13 ended in a draw.
Played for Both
One Exile who knows Grimsby Town well is our number 9, Omar Bogle. Bogle is a popular player among Grimsby fans, having helped the club secure promotion back to the Football League in 2015/16 under Paul Hurst. The striker hit the net twice in two minutes just before half-time, changing the momentum of the game and helping guide them to a 3-1 victory.
He would spend one more season at Grimsby, netting an impressive 19 goals in 27 games in League Two before signing for Wigan Athletic.
Bogle’s strike partner at Wembley is another man both teams know well in Padraig Amond. Amond scored 30 times in 40 games to help fire The Mariners back to the Football League. He would join us in 2017, going on to score 41 times in 161 games.