Newport City 0-0 Cambrian United
Newport City were forced to settle for a frustrating draw, as they participated in an unusual entertaining goalless encounter against Cambrian United at the Cardiff International Sports Stadium.
The opening exchanges proved to be an end to end even affair, with chances galore. The first notable chance fell to the visitors, following a free kick into the area which found Kyle Jones, who fired a half volley narrowly over the bar. City almost instantly punished the visitors, after some good work down the right channel saw Calum Bateman force a close range block by Cambrian keeper Morgan Davies at the near post.
The visitors came close again to scoring through Liam Warman, who missed two gilt edged opportunities. His first opportunity came when he fired inches over bar, before he witnessed his chipped effort well grasped by Cohen Riella after finding himself clean through on goal.
The Steelmen responded strongly and twice threatened through Marcus Jones who saw his shot from the edge of the area gathered by Davies, before he struck a 15 yard free kick well over the bar. City did find the back of the net following a close range finish by Nat Jarvis, but the goal was disallowed for an alleged handball.
The Steelmen continued to pressurise; and came close again shortly before the interval when both Bateman and Owen Bancroft thundered presentable efforts narrowly over the bar.
HT 0-0
City restarted the game very strongly, and almost scored twice early in the second half. Jones first saw his low strike drift inches past the left post, while a clever dipped effort by Bateman bounced off the top of the crossbar. Jones also came close again, as he fired a fizzing shot inches past the top right corner.
City ultimately took control of the second half, as they relentlessly laid siege to Cambrian’s penalty area. A succession of set pieces and crosses caused havoc inside the visitors’ area, as Cambrian were forced into several desperate blocks and clearances off the goal line.
The Steelmen came within a whisker of taking the lead when Bateman smashed a strike on to the underside of the crossbar, before the rebound was smacked over the bar by Jarvis. Richard Noyes then saw his free kick effort curl inches wide of the bottom left corner.
City continued to bombard Cambrian area late on, as they tried in vain to break the deadlock. They came close to bagging a winner through Kofi Rowe who dragged a low shot narrowly wide past the left post, leaving the Steelmen to rue their missed opportunities.
Despite the lack of goals, the team’s disciplined performance ensured they remained unbeaten in their opening two games of the season, amassing a commendable 4 points out of a possible 6. This strong start sets a positive tone for Newport City as they aim to build momentum and make a significant impact in the league.
FT 0-0
Newport City Line-Up:
Riella, John (Sub: Noyes), Taylor St Clair (Sub: Wynne), Cooper, Garrett, Caramella-Gerrard © (Sub: Rowe), Graham, Bancroft, Bateman, Jarvis, Jones (Sub: Cuddihy)
Subs Not Used: Pateev, Kaplan, Bloom