United’s six-pointer shocker (14.01.06)

UNITED notched up another miserable defeat in South Wales on Saturday against bottom side Newport.
Fielding an uncommonly defensive line up, the Magpies sat back and handed the initiative to County, with the aim of soaking up pressure and hitting the home team on the break.
This showed signs of working for the first 30 minutes, as Newport’s attacks came to nothing, while their defence looked shaky when Maidenhead ran at them.
However, the game changed in the 32nd minute, when a Ryan Ashe free-kick in the midfield was taken quickly and given straight to an amber shirt.
Matt Green raced down the right flank with the ball, before cutting the ball back to Welsh international Jason Bowen, who fired the ball into the net.
Having taken the lead, Newport visibly grew in confidence and dominated the rest of the half.
After the break Newport went for the kill.
In the 49th minute a Craig Hughes shot was parried by Scott Tarr, and the keeper then had to scramble back to complete the save on the line.
Two minutes later Tarr again parried a shot, this time from Nathan Davies, only for Hughes to finish the job and double the lead.
County were now rampant, with Tarr making another save on the line on 53 minutes.
But the result was confirmed just before the hour mark, when Green set up a shot for Davies on the edge of the penalty area, which took a deflection to leave Tarr wrong-footed and helpless.
Tarr then had to be at his best with full-length dives necessary to prevent Gary Fisken from increasing the lead on two occasions.
United’s only real chance of the match came in the last minute, when a Ryan Parsons cross was blasted wide by Stephen Hughes.

PACE: Magpies’ Dean Bradshaw gets past his marker at Newport on Saturday.

Newport County: Pennock, Williams, Evans, Jenkins, Edwards, Hillier, Bowen, Davies, Green (for O’Sullivan, 74), Hughes, Fisken (for Topper, 84). Unused subs: Bater, Wharton, Bradley.
Maidenhead United: Tarr, Johnson, Parsons, Elsegood (for Glynn, 45), Gallen (for Whiteman 65), Porter, Smith, Ashe, Newman, Bradshaw, Hughes. Unused subs: Badu, Lunn, Stevenson.