Newport County’s Graham Coughlan hailed his side’s resilience to provide a second-half comeback in a 4-2 win over Forest Green Rovers.
The Nailsworth side put themselves two goals up going into the break at Rodney Parade through an own goal by Exiles captain Ryan Delaney and Matthew Stevens.
But the Welsh side came out fighting following the restart, with Will Evans bagging a brace, alongside additions from Delaney in the right goal and Lewis Payne to get all three points.
The win for Newport County saw them stay in 17th place in the League Two table, and have edged closer to come within seven points of the play-off spots.
But the loss for Rovers sees them sit at the bottom of the Football League following Sutton United‘s win over AFC Wimbledon.
Speaking to club media following the victory, Coughlan congratulated his side’s “character and desire” to stage a comeback. He said: “I thought we were poor in the first half an hour in all honesty. It took us a bit of time to work the opposition out, we changed shape, and we made a change and that maybe gave the lads a kick start.
“It’s very hard at times to play at home when a team comes to us and sits in and plays direct, it can be difficult.”
The Irish manager highlighted the composure of his team, following Callum Jones’ dismissal for a second yellow card. The 22-year-old tripped Payne whilst he was running down the sideline, being given his marching orders by referee Stephen Martin.
The Exiles boss continued: “Our discipline was really key in the second half. We didn’t want to go down to ten men like them, we needed to stay cool. Especially being two-nil down, you can’t afford to lose your discipline.
“The crowd let us hear what they thought at half time, but by god were they good to us in the second half. They got behind us brilliantly and pushed us on to get the win.
“Experience tells me in this division that sometimes you’ll be up, sometimes you’ll be down. It’s about character and desire and that’s exactly what the lads showed today.”
The victory also saw a cameo appearance from 24-year-old Liverpool loanee Adam Lewis, who made his first appearance for County since an injury at the end of September.
Coughlan concluded: “We’ll have to manage his game time. It can be really difficult in a period like this when it’s games every few days. We’ll have to manage him the same as we have with the other injured lads in the past, your Harry Charsley’s, your Aaron Wildig’s, and protect them.
“I’m delighted we got him minutes out there today and hopefully he can build those now over the next few weeks.”
Newport welcome Crewe Alexandra to South Wales on the 29th December in their last game of 2023.
Writer’s View
County fans will be rightfully delighted with the performance in the second half from their team. They allowed Forest Green Rovers plenty of chances to take advantage, and they certainly did, putting themselves 2-0 up on the road. Furthermore, the attacking output in the first 45 left much to be desired, with only four shots, and only James Clark getting his effort on target three minutes from the break.
The change in shape from Newport stumped Rovers’ plans, and the grit and determination to get past a relegation-threatened team that will hold firm to secure points are very encouraging signs to take into the new year. Will Evans’ brace also puts him comfortably in the running for the League Two Golden Boot, which could assist the Exiles in trying to break into the play-offs heading further down the line.
Football journalist with The Real EFL since 2023. A 2024 Multimedia Journalism graduate from the University of Salford, Lewis specialises in Salford City FC and EFL coverage.
