FOREST GREEN 20/09/22ROVERS KICK-OFF 7.45PM PAPA JOHN’S TROPHY SOUTHERN GROUP F NEWPORT COUNTY AFC OFFICIAL MATCH DAY PROGRAMME 2022-23 | ISSUE 07 | £2.00
Club Chaplain: Keith Beardmore
I have said previously that we want to approach all games in the same manner this season, and that is to go and win games and aim to be as successful as we can in each competition we are involved in. That includes the Papa John’s Trophy so there will be nothing more in our focus tonight than the ambition to win this game of football.
Manager: Matthew Owen
Academy Manager: Damien Broad Media Manager: Ben
JAMES ROWBERRY
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Analyst: Conor McGaharan
Today will prove to be another competitive game against a team who we are familiar with from last season before their promotion to League One. On that note, I want to welcome Ian Burchnall, the technical staff, directors, players and supporters from Forest Green Rovers and hope they have a safe journey to and from Rodney Parade.It’sgood to be at Rodney Parade again tonight and hopefully we can get another good atmosphere which can help push us towards another positive result in this Group Stage.
Officer:
Manager:
Senior Physiotherapist: Ryan Harrison
Get behind the boys and enjoy the game.
We started our group stage with a fantastic away win at another League One side in Exeter City so we know the sort of level we will need to be at tonight and it’s a game we are prepared for.
Honorary Club President: David Hando Manager: James Rowberry
James
STADIUM NEWPORTADDRESSCOUNTY AFC RODNEY PARADE RODNEY ROAD, NP19 0UU CONTACT US t: 01633 302 012 e: office@newport-county.co.uk
I would like to begin by offering you all a warm welcome back to Rodney Parade for tonight’s Papa John’s Trophy fixture against Forest Green Rovers.
Chairman: Gavin Foxall
Goalkeeping Coach: James Hollman
Sporting Director: Darren Kelly
Supporter Liaison Donna Linton
Bob Herrin, Joe Crocker, Kevin Ward, Mark Crook, Mike Everett, Paul Marks, Peter Madigan, Shaun Johnson.
Commercial
General Nigel Stephenson Matthew Higgins Wills
First Team Coach: Jarred Harvey
Assistant Manager: Carl Serrant
Directors:
Club Secretary:
Community Development Officer: Norman Parselle
Kit Neil Leek
Man:
CHRIS SHINGLER
I
In the second part of the 1969-70 season, Graham had lost his place in the Cardiff side to David Carver and, with money raised from an appeal, our then player-man ager Bobby Ferguson was able to splash out a princely sum, for us of £4,000 to bring Codge home in March 1970. He made nine appearances in tangerine before the sea son’s end, netting once, the winner in our 1-0 win away success at Hartlepool United on April 13th. The club had to apply for re-election, by virtue of finishing fourth from the bottom, and thankfully for us we gained enough votes to retain our league status. Graham played in 42 of our 46 Division Four matches during the following 1970-71 campaign, this time notching twice; one in a 3-2 away win at Barrow and another at Somerton Park in a 2-2 draw with Lincoln City. Nevertheless, despite Gra ham’s sterling contribution, another bottom-four finish was sadly the outcome, but a much better few years
t was with great sadness that the passing of former Newport County AFC player Graham Coldrick on the18th July 2022 was an nounced; so tonight, we take the opportunity to remember the former 1970s defender… Born on the 6th November 1945, and after attending Corporation Road School in Newport, Graham became aWelsh schoolboy interna tional and was signed as a youngster by Cardiff City. Known to all as “Codge” or “Codger,” he won two Welsh U23 caps in the 196667 season and made 96 league appearances for the Bluebirds, but alas his time at Ninian Park was blighted by troublesome knee injuries. However, Graham, who made his Cardiff debut as a makeshift striker, played in some memorable matches during his spell in the capital including playing right-back in City’s 1-0 win over Torpedo Moscow in a European Cup Winners Cup Quarter final clash in front of a gate of 35,000.
GRAHAM COLDRICK
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The following 1972/73 season saw the club’s highest fin ish for years, but the Ironsides cruelly lost out to Aldershot on the slenderest of goal average. It was true heartbreak for everyone, but despite Graham’s knee issues once more restricting his appearances, he still played his part, even taking over penalty duties when fit which included netting from the spot in the famous last day 4-3 win over Bury. In only the 10th minute, captain Brian Harris stormed into the box and was tripped … penalty! Graham takes up the story in the book ‘Newport County AFC The First 100 Years’ …“I scored the first, another penalty. Steve Aizlewood said to me, If you don’t want to take it, I will. My heart was in my mouth. I got back to the dressing room thinking we were up.” However, thanks to a BBC slip up on reporting a wrong score from Hereford, we were not up and had to wait until the following Friday for Aldershot to gain the point they needed to pip us. In the same book, Graham’s wife June spoke of how a few County players’wives who lived close to each other in the Pontfean area of the town had been “Dancing in the street” thinking their men had done it, only for the wife of our goalkeeper John Macey to become the bearer of the bad news.
and advice to young players. Mind you, Rello also swiftly recalled how he was a member of the card school with him and remembered how they played for hours! John Macey called Graham a “Good friend” and added that it was a “Sad loss.” Mace also called him the “Heartbeat of our defence and a character in the changing room.” Winger Wynne Hooper, who was one of those who lived close to Graham’s Mulcaster Road home, recalled how they both often travelled to training together and spoke of his “Great character and wicked sense of humour.”Former County trainee & Newport AFC striker David Jarvis who worked with Codge at the Orb called him a “Wonderful man, a footballing legend and a true gentleman.”
Graham’s funeral took place on August 11st at Lang stone Crematorium.
Jack of all trades Codger also played baseball, enjoyed a game of golf and Skittles,and found employment after his footballing days at the Orb Steelworks. In total, he played in 180 league and cup matches for us and scored 10 goals - strangely all in league matches. He was inducted into the Newport County Hall of Fame in 2015. Graham’s younger brother Paul was also with the club in the 1980s as a trainee and his son Mark is also a big County fan.
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Fans such as Noel James called Graham “One of life’s Gents,” another who worked at the Orb with him. Reg Chalker wrote that Graham “Gave his all for the County” and Doug Williams commented “Sadly another one gone from that era, watched him many times over Somerton Park and away games.”
were lurking around the corner and the club finished in a more respectable 14th position the following season. Unfortunately, as the County pushed for a top-half spot, Graham’s season ended abruptly in the Boxing Day game whenhe was forced off and had to undergo a cartilage operation to welcome in 1972.
RIP Codge.
Codge played a much bigger part in the following 1973-74 season, making 34 league appearances and once again chipping in with a goal during our 4-0 win at home to Graham’sWorkington.finalseason at Somerton was the following 1974/75 campaign where he racked up another 33 league starts and helped the club to ahealthy 12th place finish. On departing, he went part-time and played at both Merthyr Tydfil and Cwmbran Town.
Upon his death aged 76, many supporters and former teammates of Graham paid tribute to him on various County related Social Media sites. Former players such as John Relish remembered how as a young player he roomed with Codge and how he was always full of support
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REPLAYACTION
Last Tuesday evening we travelled to perhaps the surprise team of the moment Stevenage who have made their best ever start to an EFL season.
hat continued as the home side picked up all three points following a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal scored by former County player Alex Gilbey three minutes into the second half. We caught a little of the action BORO COUNTY 45% POSSESSION 55% 14 SHOTS 7 2 ON TARGET 1 7 CORNERS 0 9 FOULS 12 Att. 2109 Referee Mr. O. Langford MATCH FACTS
T
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8 | OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME 2022-23 *Effective against enveloped viruses **vs representative Gram-negative bacterium. Always practise good hand hygiene. Use biocides safely. Always read the label and product information before use. 99.9% OF BACTERIA
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10 | OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME 2022-23 DATE OPPONENTS COMP F-A ATT POS LINE-UP JULY Sat 30 Sutton United L2 1-1 3169 (483) 11 Townsend Norman n Evans Drysdale Dolan Demetriou Bowen l n Bennett SatAUGUST6 WALSALL L2 0-1 4988(857) 17 Townsend Norman Evans l Drysdale Dolan l Demetriou Bowen l Bennett Tue 9 Luton Town CCR1 3-2 3827(207) Day (AA)Lewis (AD)Lewis n Farquharson l Drysdale n Demetriou Bowen l n Willmott Sat 13 Bradford City L2 0-2 16704(171) 22 Townsend Norman n (AD)Lewis Drysdale n Dolan l Demetriou Willmott l Bennett Tue 16 SALFORD CITY L2 2-3 3678(79) 23 Townsend (AA)Lewis (AD)Lewis l n Norman Clarke Demetriou n Bowen l Bennett Sat 20 TRANMERE ROVERS L2 2-1 4070(252) 19 Townsend Norman (AA)Lewis Clarke n Drysdale Demetriou MORIAH-WELSH1 l Bennett Tue 23 PORTSMOUTH CC R2 3-2 3866(911) Day Norman (AD)Lewis Farquharson l Drysdale n Willmott n Bowen l WILDIG Sat 27 Harrogate Town L2 *4-0 1757(150est) 16 Townsend Norman (AA)Lewis Clarke Drysdale l n Demetriou Moriah-Welsh l Bennett Tue 30 Exeter City PJT 2-1 1902(96) Day (AA)Lewis (AD)Lewis l Farquharson n Dolan Willmott Bowen Wildig SatSEPTEMBER3 GRIMSBY TOWN L2 0-2 4251(405) 17 Townsend Norman (AA)Lewis l Clarke Drysdale l Demetriou Bennett l n Moriah-Welsh Tue 13 Stevenage L2 0-1 2109(117) 17 Townsend Norman l (AA)Lewis Clarke Drysdale Farquharson l Bennett l Dolan Sat 17 BARROW AFC L2 Tue 20 FOREST GREEN ROVERS PJT Sat 24 CARLISLE UNITED L2 OCTOBER Sat 1 Leyton Orient L2 Sat 8 ROCHDALE L2 Sat 15 Crawley Town L2 Tue 18 SOUTHAMPTON U1 PJT Sat 22 COLCHESTER UNITED L2 Tue 25 Mansfield Town L2 Sat 29 Northampton Town L2 NOVEMBER Sat 5 Emirates FA Cup R1 L2 Tues 8 Leicester City CCR3 Sat 12 STOCKPORT COUNTY L2 Sat 19 GILLINGHAM L2 Sat 26 Emirates FA Cup R2 L2 DECEMBER Sat 3 Crewe Alexandra L2 Sat 10 DONCASTER ROVERS L2 Sat 17 Hartlepool United L2 Mon 26 AFC Wimbledon L2 Thu 29 LEYTON ORIENT L2 SunJANUARY1 CRAWLEY TOWN L2 Sat 7 Rochdale L2 Sat 14 Carlisle United L2 Sat 21 AFC WIMBLEDON L2 Sat 28 Grimsby Town L2 SatFEBRUARY4 SWINDON TOWN L2 Sat 11 Barrow AFC L2 Tue 14 STEVENAGE L2 Sat 18 Walsall L2 Sat 25 SUTTON UNITED L2 MARCH Sat 4 Salford City L2 Sat 11 BRADFORD CITY L2 Sat 18 Tranmere Rovers L2 Sat 25 HARROGATE TOWN L2 APRIL Sat 1 Colchester United L2 Fri 7 NORTHAMPTON TOWN L2 Mon 10 Stockport County L2 Sat 15 HARTLEPOOL UNITED L2 Tue 18 MANSFIELD TOWN L2 Sat 22 Doncaster Rovers L2 Sat 29 Gillingham L2 SatMAY6 CREWE ALEXANDRA L2 TBA Swindon Town L2 MATCH-BY-MATCH STATS
WWW.NEWPORT-COUNTY.CO.UK OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME 2022-23 | 11 Key: Goalscorer(s) in Bold1; Sub 1 l; Sub 2 l; Sub 3 l; Sub 4 l; Sub 5 l; Yellow Card n; Red Card n; * Own Goal. SUBS REF Bennett n Wildig Bogie 1 l Zanzala l Collins l Willmott l Zimba l (AA) Lewis Day Waite (AD) Lewis Mr. S. Purkiss Bennett n Wildig l Bogle l Zanzala (AA)Lewis l Waite l Collins l (AD)LEWIS l Zimba l Day Willmott Mr.A.Young Willmott n Waite 1 Collins 1 l Zimba 1 l Norman l Bennett l Zanzala l Wildig l Dolan Evans Stokes Mr.O.Yates Bennett n Wildig l Collins l Bogle l Waite l n Bowen (AA)Lewis Evans Zimba l Day Moriah-Welsh Mr. W. Finnie Bennett 1 Waite l Collins Bogle 1 n Moriah-Welsh l Evans l Zimba l Day Farquharson Dolan Stokes Mr. S. Gill Bennett Waite l Nevers l BOGLE1 l Collins l Bowen l (AD)Lewis l Zimba l Dolan Evans Day Mr. T. Nield WILDIG 1 l Collins Zimba l EVANS 1 n Demetriou l Moriah-Welsh l WAITE 1 l Bogle l Townsend Dolan (AA)Lewis Mr.JBusby Bennett Waite l n NEVERS 1 l BOGLE 2 l Dolan l Wildig l Collins l Evans l Willmott l Day (AD)Lewis Mr.C.Boyeson Wildig n Collins l ZIMBA 1 l Evans l BOGLE 1 l Waite l Moriah-Welsh l Drysdale l Clarke l Townsend Nevers Mr. D. Drysdale Moriah-Welsh Waite Bogle Nevers l Willmott l Evans l n Collins l Zimba l Day Farquharson Dolan Mr. S. Oldham Dolan Waite Bogle Evans l Moriah-Welsh l Nevers l (AD)Lewis l Lindley l Day Demetriou Zimba Mr.O.Langford STATS 2022-23 YOUR TRUST YOUR CLUB For more details and to join simply scan our unique QR code or visit us at www.ncafctrust.org or email us at info@ncafctrust.org YOUR TRUST – YOUR CLUB For more details and to join simply scan our unique QR code or visit us at www.ncafctrust.org or email us at info@ncafctrust.org
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II (1926 – 2022)
8
9 GRIMSBY
20 CRAWLEY
7 Robbie WILLMOTT 1 (3) 0 0 0 3 (0) 0 2 0 4 (3) 0 2 0
18
8
8
3 Declan DRYSDALE 7 (0) 0 1 1 2 (1) 0 2 0 9 (1) 0 3 1
3
7
21 Lewis COLLINS 2 (5) 0 0 0 3 (0) 1 0 0 5 (5) 1 0 0
8
16 TRANMERE
1 ORIENT 7 1 0 15 4 11 22 STEVENAGE 6 1 1 11 6 5 19 BARROW AFC 6 0 2 13 9 4 18 SALFORD CITY 5 2 1 13 6 7 17 NORTHAMPTON TOWN 5 2 1 16 10 6 17 CITY 4 2 2 11 7 4 14 DONCASTER ROVERS 4 2 2 10 10 0 14 TOWN 4 1 3 12 9 3 13 TOWN 3 3 1 7 5 2 12 CREWE ALEXANDRA 3 3 2 10 9 1 12 TOWN 2 5 1 9 8 1 11 UNITED 3 2 3 9 9 0 11 UNITED 2 4 1 8 7 1 10 2 3 3 10 8 2 9 AFC WIMBLEDON 2 2 4 8 11 -3 8 ROVERS 2 1 5 8 9 -1 7 COUNTY 2 1 5 9 11 -2 7 STOCKPORT COUNTY 2 1 5 10 13 -3 7 TOWN 2 1 5 6 11 -5 7 TOWN 1 3 4 8 12 -4 6 COLCHESTER UNITED 1 3 4 7 12 -5 6 1 3 4 2 9 -7 6 0 4 4 6 15 -9 4 0 2 6 5 13 -8 2 SEASON Cup Total
8
7
Name Apps
20 Hayden LINDLEY 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 (0) 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 0 0
8 MANSFIELD
14 WALSALL 8
11 James WAITE 5 (2) 0 2 0 1 (2) 2 0 0 6 (4) 2 2 0
8
13 CARLISLE
8 Matty DOLAN 4 (1) 0 0 0 1 (0) 0 0 0 5 (1) 0 0 0
24 Aaron WILDIG 3 (1) 0 0 0 2 (1) 1 1 0 5 (2) 1 1 0
11 SWINDON
3 (2) 1 0 0 0 (2) 0 0 0 3 (4) 1 0 0
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28 Mickey DEMETRIOU 7 (0) 0 1 0 1 (1) 0 0 0 8 (1) 0 1 0
24 ROCHDALE 8
8
17 NEWPORT
LEYTON
Pos Team P W D L F A GD PTS
14 Aaron LEWIS 5 (2) 0 0 0 2 (0) 0 0 0 7 (2) 0 0 0
17 Scot BENNETT 8 (0) 1 4 0 0 (1) 0 0 0 8 (1) 1 4 0
29 Will EVANS 3 (4) 0 1 0 2 (0) 1 1 0 5 (4) 1 2 0
19 Thierry NEVERS 3 (1) 1 0 0 0 (0) 0 0 0 3 (1) 1 0 0
10
Goals
6 Priestley FARQUHARSON 1 (0) 0 0 0 3 (0) 0 1 0 4 (0) 0 1 0
4 Sam BOWEN 3 (2) 0 1 0 3 (0) 0 1 0 6 (2) 0 2 0
4
22 GILLINGHAM 8
8
Statistics supplied by Gareth Swattridge * OUT ON LOAN. ** NO LONGER AT THE CLUB. League
21
No Goals YC RC Apps YC RC
27 Adam LEWIS 2 (3) 0 1 0 3 (0) 0 1 0 5 (3) 0 2 0
12 SUTTON
18 Chanka ZIMBA
8
2
8
15
8
19 HARROGATE
AFC 8
0 (7) 0 0 0 3 (0) 2 0 0 3 (7) 2 0 0
8
23 HARTLEPOOL UNITED 8
5
1 Joe DAY 0 (0) 0 0 0 3 (0) 0 0 0 3 (0) 0 0 0
Apps Goals YC RC
6 BRADFORD
8
22 Nathan MORIAH-WELSH
8
Up To Date @ 13.9.22 LeagueCOUNTYTable APPEARANCES & GOALSCORERS 2022-23
5 James CLARKE 5 (0) 0 1 0 0 (1) 0 0 0 5 (1) 0 1 0
10 Offrande ZANZALA 2 (0) 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 0 0 2 (1) 0 0 0
30 Nick TOWNSEND 8 (0) 0 0 0 0 (0) 0 0 0 8 (0) 0 0 0
7
8
2 Cameron NORMAN 8 (0) 0 2 0 1 (1) 0 0 0 9 (1) 0 2 0
9 Omar BOGLE 8 (0) 5 1 0 0 (2) 1 0 0 8 (2) 6 1 0
8
8
Correct and Up To Date on 13.9.2022
Record Win: 12-1 v Avon Bradford, FA Vase Preliminary Round, September 1977.
BACK STORY …
Record Appearances: Alex Sykes, 295, 1996-2000, 2001, 2002-04
Welcome …
Best in League Cup: Round 2, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2021-22 and 2022-23.
1889-2022 … 1889-94 Friendlies; 1894-96 and 1899-1901 Mid Gloucestershire League; 1901-20 Dursley & District League and/or Stroud & District League; 1920-22 Stroud & District League and North Gloucestershire League; 1922-23 Gloucestershire Northern Senior League; 1923-26 Stroud & District League; 1926-27 Gloucestershire Northern Senior League; 192728 Stroud Premier League; 1928-34 Gloucestershire Northern Senior League; 1934-37 Stroud Premier League; 1937-68 Gloucestershire Northern Senior League; 1968-75 Gloucestershire County League;
Best in FL Trophy: Round 3 (South), 2017-18.
Rovers won their first league title in 1902-03, when they were declared champions of the Dursley & District League in somewhat un usual circumstances. Having been unable to complete two scheduled fixtures, the league management committee awarded Forest Green maximum points, bringing them level with top of the table Stonehouse FC. The neighbouring outfits subsequently played off for the title with Rovers winning 2-1! Four subsequent play-offs in the last eight years have brought three defeats, including the frenetic5-4semi-final aggregate reverse to County in May 2021, though Forest Green did famously beat Tranmere Rovers in the 2017 National League Final to earn promotion to the Football League.
INTRODUCING
Our visitors first reached national prominence in 1982, with their 3-0 FA Vase victory over Rainworth Miners Welfare at Wembley. Bustling striker Steve Doughty, who would make his Newport AFC debut at Leicester United eight years later, played for Rovers that afternoon,
FOREST GREEN ROVERS
Previous Ground: The Lawn (1889-1924 and 1927-2006), park in Nailsworth (1924-27).
Record Attendance: 4836 v Derby County, FA Cup Round 3, January 2009.
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LAST 10 SEASONS … Season League Position Average Att. 2012-13 Conference Premier 10 1202 2013-14 Football Conference 10 1194 2014-15 National League 5 (p/off) 1502 2015-16 National League 2 (p/off) 1750 2016-17 National League 3 (prom.) 1753 2017-18 League Two 21 2772 2018-19 League Two 5 (p/off) 2701 2019-20 League Two 10 2541 2020-21 League Two 6 (p/off) BCD 2021-22 League Two 1 (prom.) 2738
Previous Names: Forest Green (1889-93), Nailsworth AFC 1895-96, Nailsworth & Forest Green United (1911-19), Stroud FC (1989-92)
Record Scorer: Alex Sykes, 73.
This evening’s visitors arrived on the Gloucestershire football scene in October 1889, thanks to the efforts of local Congregational minister, Reverend Edward Peach. After playing friendlies, Forest Green joined the Mid Gloucestershire League in 1894, adopting the ‘Rovers’ suffix. Committee member Mr A Cakebread instigated a name change to Nailsworth FC, the village just down the road from the tiny hamlet of Forest Green, though local interest remained elusive, and, after a brief cessation of operations, the club re-emerged as Forest Green Rovers in 1898. A further attempt to incorporate the village, with a switch to Nailsworth & Forest Green United in 1911, proved as fruitless as Mr Cakebread’s earlier initiative. Seventy-eight years later, the final attempt at name-tinkering, a change to Stroud FC - under which banner our visitors faced Newport in the early ‘AFC’ years – was dropped after protests from our visitors’ small but committed fan base.
Best in FA Vase: Winners, 1981-82, beat Rainworth Miners Welfare
e welcome familiar opponents, FOREST GREEN ROVERS, for our opening home game in the Papa John’s Trophy. Rovers are currently adapting to life in League One under new manager Ian Burchnall and will be hoping to maintain their impressive record at Rodney Parade.
Best League Position: 1st, League Two 2021-22.
RICHARD TAYLOR
Record Signing: Adrian Randall, £25,000 from Bury, August 1999.
1975-82 Hellenic League: Premier Division; 1982-95 Southern League: Midland Division; 1995-97 Southern League: Southern Division; 199798 Southern League: Premier Division; 1998-2004Conference; 2004-17 Conference Premier; 2017-22 League Two; 2022- League One.
FACT FILE…
Best in FA Cup: Round 3, 2008-09 and 2009-10.
W
Formed: 1889
Best in FA Trophy: Runners-up 1998-99 and 2000-01.
Record Defeat: 0-10 v Gloucester, Mid-Gloucestershire League, January 1900.
Most Capped Player: Omel Bugiel, 1 (10), Lebanon.
Ground: The New Lawn, Nympsfield Road, Nailsworth GL6 0ET.
Capacity: 5121 (2041 seated)
Record Departure: Ethan Pinnock, £500,000 to Barnsley, June 2017.
‘It is a great opportunity for me to further my career and this seems like the perfect club for me. I spoke to the gaffer and I loved being at the club in my initial trial period. I have enjoyed every day so far.’
2020-21 League Two 0-2 (BCD) 1-1 (BCD)
ROVERS TODAY … New signing
06 Aug: Ipswich Town H 1-2 4015
TIM HARRIS has a special place in the histories of both Forest Green and County, with his achievements as manager of Newport between 1997 and 2002 and subsequently as Director of Football in the Dean Holdsworth and Justin Edinburgh eras pivotal in developing the club both on and off the field. Dymock-born Timwas a young goalkeeper on County’s books in the Colin Addison era of the late 1970s, before spending most of his playing career on the Gloucestershire non-league circuit. He had two spells in charge of this evening’s visitors, most recently succeeding his mentor Addison in the Nailsworth hot seat in October 2003,a year after his departure from County. Tim guided his new charges to Conference safety that season, with a squad including future Newport players Damon Searle, Scott Rogers and Dave Gilroy, before returning to South Wales the following season as manager of Merthyr Tydfil. Tim was backin the dugout at the start of last year as manager of Midland Football League Worcester City, following spells as Director of Football at Tamworth and Hereford FC. Sixty-three next month, he has clearly not lost his appetite for the game, commenting: ‘Worcester City FC is a great fit for me. It goes without saying that this football club has a rich history and strong fan base. The fact Worcester City has not had a promotion for 40 years needs to change.’
09 Aug: Leyton Orient (League Cup R1) H 2-0 1055
though Forest Green already had record-breaking history in the competition, as their best-ever win came in the FA Vase in September 1977, with a 12-1 rout of hapless Avon Bradford. Swindon-born winger Kenny Gill scored a double hat trick in the win and found his way to Newport County in 1985, scoring three goals in 22 appearancesas a part-time player while working as a quantity surveyor during Bobby Smith’s brief Somerton Park tenure.
COUNTY v ROVERS
1990-91 FA Trophy 2QR 0-2 (886)
Forest Green supporterLaurie Martin reflecting on the club’s rise to ‘FourFourTwo’ magazine.
2020-21 League Two P/O S/F 2-0 (900) 3-4 (1100) 2021-22 League Two 1-1 (4448) 0-2 (3817)
2011-12 FA Trophy Round 1 0-0 (724) 2-0 (368)
2017-18 League Two 3-3 (2862) 4-0 (2864)
2018-19 League Two 1-4 (4203) 1-1 (3081)
‘Forty years after winning promotion from the Hellenic League and getting ready to play Dudley Town, Bromsgrove Rovers and Minehead, we are preparing for games against Ipswich, Derby and Sheffield Wednesday. I won’t be happy unless we beat one of the big teams, even if it is only once. The meltdown would be hilarious!’
Forest Green reached the Third Round (South) of this evening’s competition in 2017-18, losing 2-0 at Yeovil Town, but started the Papa John’s Trophy group stage this term with a 3-1 victory over Southampton U21s. The young Saints had taken the lead through an Olly Lancaster header in the 32nd minute, before Baily Cargill, Dom Barnard and Olly Casey secured the three points despite the second half dismissal of Armani Little.
PAST MANAGER …
2012-13 Conference Premier 0-5 (2787) 2-1 (2332)
30 Aug: Southampton U21 (EFL Trophy) H 3-1 726
Scorers: Little 2, March 2, Wickham 2, Bernard 1, Brown 1, Cargill 1, Casey 1, Hendry 1, Moore-Taylor 1,
1994-95 Southern League Cup Round 1 0-2 (459) 3-0 (256)
06 Sep: Accrington Stanley H 2-1 2007
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2011-12 Conference Premier 0-0 (1325) 1-1 (1203)
1992-93 FA Cup 1QR 2-1 (419)
30 July: Bristol Rovers A 2-1 9064
13 Aug: Lincoln City A 1-1 7374
1990-91 Southern League: Midland Division 0-1 (1646) 1-0 (240
1991-92 Southern League: Midland Division 1-0 (608) 3-2 (703)
Season Competition H A
2019-20 League Two 2-0 (2897)
Ian Burchnallhas been impressed with the form of Chelsea loanee and Norway U19 international Bryan Fiabema, though has reservations up top!
RECENT RESULTS …
24 Aug: Brighton & HA (League Cup R2) H 0-3 3812
1993-94 Southern League: Midland Division 0-1 (352) 8-3 (333)
1995-96 Southern League Cup Round 2 4-2 (195)
Manager Ian Burchnall added to his squad earlier this month with the post transfer deadline day acquisition of free agent Sean O’Brien. The 20-year-old, who can feature as an attacker or midfielder, has been with Millwall throughout his fledgling career and is eager to start his fresh challenge at The New Lawn:
1994-95 Southern League: Midland Division 4-0 (540) 6-2 (523)
‘I spoke to people in Rosenborg about Bryan Fiabema, and you arenot a bad player if you are at Chelsea – he has had a positive impact but I am not sure about his hair cut!’
20 Aug: Plymouth Argyle H 0-3 3404
27 Aug: Sheffield Wednesday A 0-5 22300
2010-11 Conference Premier 3-1 (2677) 0-0 (1362)
13 Sep: Charlton Athletic A 1-1 10,579
03 Sep: Shrewsbury Town H 0-2 2468
1991-92 FA Trophy 3QR 3-1 (463)
2017-18 EFL Trophy 0-2 (1090)
1989-90 Welsh Cup Round 1 3-1 (369)
Saints beaten
2004-05 Conference Cup Round 1 3-4 (223)
FAN’S VIEW …
MANAGER’S VIEW …
F-A Att:
AGOALKEEPERkeyplayerfortwo seasons, with 48 appearances in the 2021-22 promotion campaign including all 46 in League 2. Luke signed from Portsmouth in July 2020. The 27-year-old spent three years with Pompey after arriving from Spurs for an undisclosed fee in July 2017, before which he spent all of 201617 on loan to Peterborough. He also featured four times on loan for Bradford City in 2019-20.
SummerDEFENDERarrival on a free transfer from Rochdale, where he spent the first half of last season on loan from Mansfield Town with the move made permanent in January. Corey joined the Stags from Birmingham City after spending 2019-20 on loan at relegation-bound Macclesfield, followed by a half-season stay at National League side Solihull Moors in 2018-19. Ireland youth cap.
SummerMIDFIELDER2021arrival from Colches ter United. Ben graduated from Coventry City’s academy to make 48 first-team appearances, lifting the EFL Trophy. In January 2018 he was sold to Wolves and then loaned to Colchester, scoring against County on his debut.After a loan to Wolves’ Spanish affiliate club Jumilla in 2018–19 he rejoined Colchester on a permanent basis. MEET FOREST GREEN ROVERS
01 Luke McGee
03 Dom Bernard
05 Oliver Casey
OnDEFENDERloanfrom L1 rivals Blackpool. The 21-year-old centreback was born in Leeds and came through the academy at Elland Road to sign as a professional in 2018. Oliver made two first-team appearances in cup games and helped the U23swin the Premier League 2 Division Two. He joinedBlackpoollast summer but was limited to three starts and three appearances off the bench.
06 Baily Cargill
JanuaryDEFENDER2021 signing from MK Dons, who he joined in 2018 after being freed by Bournemouth. The centreback, from Winchester, played one league game for the Cherries and was loaned out to AFC Totton, Welling United, Torquay, Coventry, Gillingham, Fleetwood and Partick Thistle, where he played 16 games in the Scottish Premier. Capped by England at U20 level in 2014 and 2015.
02 Corey O’Keeffe
07 Ben Stevenson
PHIL TANNER
VersatileDEFENDERfullback signed after a summer 2019 trial. The 25-year-old had been released by Birmingham City and is now closing in on 100 EFL appearances for Rovers.Glouces ter-born Dom was with Birmingham from age 12 and was knocking on the door of the first team before an Achilles injury sidelined him for almost a year. He spent 2018-19 on loan for National League side Aldershot.
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16 Jacob Jones
CappedMIDFIELDERbyScotland at U17 and U21 levels. Kyle joined Rovers in June on the expiry of his deal with Scottish Premier League side St Mirren. He began his career there in 2016 and after interest from a number of Eng lish clubssigned for Derby County in January 2017 for areported £225k. He returned to St Mirren in 2019, ini tially on loan, and ended last season on loan at Partick Thistle.
SummerMIDFIELDERsigning from National League Torquay United, where he had an outstanding 2021-22 cam paign and scored 15 in 38 league appearances. Armani was in the youth system at Southampton from age 12 and signed professional in 2015. Released three years later, he moved on to Oxford United and spent the second half of the 201819 season on loan at Woking before joining Torquay.
19 Sean Robertson
10 Armani Little
11 Harry Boyes
WingerMIDFIELDERonloan from Sheffield Unit ed, who he joined from Manchester City as a youth player in 2018. Harry has had two previous temporary spells away from Bramall Lane, at Bradford Park Avenue in National League North side in 2020-21 and last season at Solihull Moors. He made 30 appearances as they reached the NL playoff final and was named in the divisional Team of the Year.
VersatileMIDFIELDERplayer who can play at wingback on both sides or more advanced roles as a straightforward winger or part of a front three. Sean signed just after the season started, having spent his formative years with Crystal Palace where he played for the U21s in the EFL Trophy last season. The 21-year-old spent the early part of pre-season on trial at Sheffield United and Derby County.
15 Moore-TaylorJordan
SummerDEFENDER2020 signing after he was freed by MK Dons, having followed manager Paul Tisdale there from Exeter City with more than 180 firstteam appearances under his belt. Now in his eleventh season in the EFL, Jordan was an Exeter academy graduate and made his debut in 2012-13. He went on to captain the Grecians and guided them to the League Two playoff final in 2015-16.
17 Kyle McAllister
14 Jamille Matt
08 Regan Hendry
FormerDEFENDERSwansea City left back signed in the summer after spend ing time on trial at The New Lawn. Jacob never made the Swans’ first team but made a single appearance for their U21 side in the EFL Trophy four years ago. He made his Rovers debut in the EFL Cup in August. Praised by head coach Ian Burchnall for the quality of his delivery.
A regular in last season’s title-win ning side. Scottish U17 cap Regan played youth football for Celtic and then had a very successful stint at Raith Rovers, where he had been on loan, when he helped win Scot tish League One followed by third place in the Championship. He was named by both the Scottish PFA and the SPFL in their 2020-21 divisional teams of the season.
“Jamma” arrived from County in summer 2020 after two seasons in amber and scored 16 in his debut campaign and 20 last term as Rovers took the title, lifting three end of season awards. Among other clubs he was a thorn in County’s side back in the Conference with Kidder minster before moving to Fleetwood for a record fee and joining County from Blackpool.
ClubSTRIKERcaptain
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HasDEFENDERpassed100 games for Rovers across all competitions but currently out injured. A centreback who can also play right back, Udoka was signed from Oxford City in National League South in January 2019. Rovers reportedly saw off com petition from clubs as high as the Championship. “Dokes” had a brief loan to National League Eastleigh in January 2020.
Long-standingGOALKEEPERbackup keeper, lim ited last season to five cup games as number two to Luke McGee. Lewis has an EFL win here on his CV from 2021-22. The Wales U19 cap was signed from Swansea City ahead of the 2018-19 season. Lewis helped the Swans to three Welsh Youth Cup wins and was part of their 2016-17 Premier League Two double-win ning squad.
DEFENDERWolverhampton
JoinedSTRIKERinthe
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Wanderers U21s captain who is on loan until the end of the season, signed on deadline day.The 19-year-old won promotion with Wolves’ development side, which he captained, securing a place in PL2 Division One. Born in Zurich, Christian previously played for Dubendorf and Grasshoppers. He plays under the Portuguese flag, like many at Molyneux,and has played onloan at Primeira Liga side Belenenses.
21 Connor Wickham
26 David Davis
summer on a shortterm deal initially until January, Rovers lower on firepower with the long-term injury absence of the prolific Matty Stevens. His previous clubs including loans number Ipswich, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds, Crystal Palace, Preston and MK Dons. As an England youth cap he scored the winning goal in the 2010 European U17 Championship final.
22 Udoka win-MalifeGod-
SummerMIDFIELDERarrival who was most recently with Shrewsbury. David’s career began with a scholarship at Wolves – culminating inseven appearances in the Premier League - and loans took him to Darlington, Walsall and Inverness. He estab lished himself at Birmingham City with nearly 200 appearances in all competitions. After time on loan at Charlton Athletic he then spent 18 months with Shrewsbury. Captain in the first group game.
18 Bryan Fiabema
20 Sean O’Brien
OnMIDFIELDERloanfromBrentford. The 19-yearold links up with Ian Burchnall’s squad until January in the first instance. Myles joined the Bees from Chelsea last summer and made one substitute appearance in the Carabao Cup and one in the FA Cup as well as being involved in the matchday squad in Premier League games across the season.
LeftSTRIKERMillwall
25 Myles Peart-Harris
19 Christian Marques
at the end of last season and signed for Rovers as a free agent in September after several weeks on trial at The New Lawn. The 20-year-oldhelped Millwall’s youth team reach the last eight in the FA Youth Cup in 2019-20. He can also play a deeper role and last season had a youth loan at Bromley in the National League.
24 Lewis Thomas
ChelseaSTRIKERyoungster signed on dead line in August on a loan deal until the end of the season. The 19-year-old striker recently returned to Stamford Bridge from a loan spell in his home country with top-flight Norwegian outfit Rosenborg. Bryan started his career with hometown club Tromso before making the move to Chelsea in 2020 and currently represents Norway U19s.
HEAD COACH
BackSTRIKERinthe fold last season after ending 2020-21 on loan to EFL debutants Harrogate Town. Josh made 10 + 4 appearances for the Yorkshiremen, scoring five includ ing one against County at Wetherby Road. He was picked up by Forest Green after scoring prolifically in non-league, including 24 in 27 games for Leamington and 81 in 184 for Newport AFC’s onetime opponents Alvechurch.
ne of an increasing number of managers and head coaches in the lower divisions who never played professionally.Ianstartedhis coaching career at the age of 22 at the University of Leeds and was later part of the staffs at the Leeds United and Bradford City academies. He headed to Scandinavia in 2012 as assistant manager at Norwegian club Sarpsborg and then managed Viking in Stavanger.
Two years later Ian stepped down, citing personal reasons, to return to England and in March 2021 he was appointed as head coach of National League side Notts County.After twice reaching the playoffs he left Meadow Lane for Rovers in May 2022, succeeding Rob Edwards when he made a surprise switch to Watford.
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O
IAN BURCHNALL
InMIDFIELDERhissecond stint at The New Lawn. Reece spent two seasons with Rovers from June 2017 after leaving Birmingham City, playing 78 games in L2. He then signed for Huddersfield Town. He spent the second half of 2019–20 on loan at Peterborough, rejoined them, also on loan, for the following season and for a third time in January 2022. Released this summer, he rejoined Forest Green.
29 Reece Brown
While at Leeds Ian had met Graham Potter and through this contact he became Potter’s successor as head coach of Ostersund in Sweden in the summer of 2018, when Potter returned to the UK to take over at Swansea.
28 Josh March
SQUAD CHECK NEWPORT COUNTY AFC MANAGER: JAMES ROWBERRY FOREST GREEN ROVERS HEAD COACH : IAN BURCHNALL TONIGHT’S FIXTURES IN THE PAPA JOHN’S TROPHY (GAMES INVOLVING LEAGUE TWO CLUBS ONLY) AFC Wimbledon vs Crawley Town Carlisle United vs Fleetwood Town Cheltenham Town vs Walsall Crewe Alexandra vs Leeds United Grimsby Town vs Mansfield Town Leyton Orient vs Sutton United Lincoln City vs Doncaster Rovers Morecambe vs Hartlepool United Newport County AFC vs Forest Green Rovers Northampton Town vs Cambridge United Rochdale vs Liverpool U21 Salford City vs Accrington Stanley Stevenage vs Wycombe Wanderers Stockport County vs W’hampton Wanderers U21 Swindon Town vs Bolton Wanderers Tranmere Rovers vs Bolton Wanderers MATCH OFFICIALS REFEREE LEE SWABEY ASSISTANT MARK DERRIEN ASSISTANT DARREN WILDING FOURTH OFFICIAL ROSS MARTIN CARLISLE UNITED SATURDAY 24TH SEPTEMBER 2022 KICK-OFF 3.00PM SKY BET LEAGUE TWO LEYTON ORIENT SATURDAY 1ST OCTOBER 2022 KICK-OFF 3.00PM SKY BET LEAGUE TWO NEXT UP AT HOME ON THE ROAD1LUKE MCGEE (GK) 2 COREY O’KEEFFE 3 DOM BERNARD 5 OLIVER CASEY 6 BAILY CARGILL 7 BEN STEVENSON 8 REGAN HENDRY 9 MATTY STEVENS 10 ARMANI LITTLE 11 HARRY BOYES 13 ALFIE BURNETT (GK) 14 JAMILLE MATT 15 JORDAN MOORE-TAYLOR 16 JACOB JONES 17 KYLE MCALLISTER 18 BRYAN FIABEMA 19 SEAN ROBERTSON 20 SEAN O’BRIEN 21 CONNOR WICKHAM 22 UDOKA GODWIN-MALIFE 23 CHRISTIAN MARQUES 24 LEWIS THOMAS (GK) 25 MYLES PEART-HARRIS 26 DAVID DAVIS 27 HARVEY BUNKER 28 JOSH MARCH 29 REECE BROWN 1 JOE DAY (GK) 2 CAMERON NORMAN 3 DECLAN DRYSDALE 4 SAM BOWEN 5 JAMES CLARKE 6 PRIESTLEY FARQUHARSON 7 ROBBIE WILLMOTT 8 MATT DOLAN 9 OMAR BOGLE 10 OFFRANDE ZANZALA 11 JAMES WAITE 14 AARON LEWIS 17 SCOT BENNETT 18 CHANKA ZIMBA 19 THIERRY NEVERS 20 HAYDEN LINDLEY 21 LEWIS COLLINS 22 NATHAN MORIAH-WELSH 23 HARRISON BRIGHT 24 AARON WILDIG 27 ADAM LEWIS 28 MICKEY DEMETRIOU 29 WILL EVANS 30 NICK TOWNSEND (GK) 35 JACK KARADOGAN 39 EVAN OVENDALE (GK)
