Newport City 3-0 Aberbargoed Buds
Newport City extended their recent impressive run of victories to eight successive games following a well earned home win against Aberbargoed Buds. The victory keeps the Steelmen’s promotion hopes on track, as they keep the pressure on Risca United and Trethomas Bluebirds at the top of the table.
The opening 15 minutes proved to be a cagey affair, as both sides battled against the strong windy conditions. The first meaningful chance came following a phenomenal run into area by Buds’ Abdulrasheed Ibrahim, who forced Cohen Riella into desperately collecting the ball from his feet.
The Steelmen eventually upped the tempo; and came relatively close on a few occasions to taking the lead. A well drilled cross into the area by Adam Kaplan found Calum Bateman, who frustratingly saw his scuffed shot blocked by Buds keeper Daniel Woods. City continued to pressurise, as Kofi Rowe tried his luck with a couple of long range efforts. His first effort was grabbed by Woods, while his second attempt flew narrowly wide past the left post.
The Steelmen kept searching for the opener; and almost scored when Cole Jarvis saw his looping header held by well grasped by Wood. City’s persistence finally paid off three minutes before the interval, as they took the lead in fortuitus fashion. After advancing from the right channel, Jarvis saw his cross inside the area (heavily aided by a strong gust of wind) fly straight into the top left corner.
HT 1-0
Boosted by the late first half goal, the Steelmen restarted the game strongly and doubled their lead in the 54th minute. A long throw into the area by Riccardo Mackenzie fell kindly on to the feet of Jarvis, who tucked in his second goal of the game from a couple of yards out.
With City in full control, the visitors found it difficult to claw their way back into the game. Their best opportunity in the second half came from a 15 yard free kick effort by Ibrahim, which flew just over the bar.
The game was effectively over as a contest in the 67th minute, as the Steelmen registered their third goal of the evening. A spectacular overhead kick hit by Jarvis initially smacked off the crossbar, before the rebound strike from Bateman also hit the underside of the bar. Luckily for Bateman, the ball had bounced inches over the goal line.
With the wind behind their sails, City continued to push forward in their search for more goals. Rhyse Hudson fired a presentable close range opportunity over the bar, while Owen Cuddihy came a whisker away from tapping the ball in after attempting to connect with Hudson’s low pass across face of goal.
Things got worse for the visitors during the closing stages as Jack Trollope suffered a concerning looking injury, leading to a lengthy stoppage while the player was being stretchered off. That proved to be final talking point of the game, as the Steelmen maintained their 100% winning record in 2024.
FT 3-0
Newport City Line-Up:
Riella, Noyes, Cuddihy, Jarvis, Mickiewicz, Taylor St Clair, Bateman (Sub: Ogugua), Rowe (Sub: Clifford), Kaplan (Sub: Hudson), Caramella-Gerrard (Sub: Tyrrell Webbe), Mackenzie (Sub: Francombe)
Marc Davies (Media Officer)