2020–21_Newport_County_A.F.C._season

Newport County
2020–21 season
Owner	Newport County AFC Supporters Trust
Chairman	Gavin Foxall
Manager	Michael Flynn
Stadium	Rodney Parade and; Cardiff City Stadium 9 March 2021 to 21 March 2021
League Two	5th (play-off finalists)
FA Cup	Third round
EFL Cup	Fourth round
EFL Trophy	Group stage
Welsh League Cup	Enter in first round, competition cancelled
Top goalscorer	League: ; Pádraig Amond; Matt Dolan; Scott Twine (6 each); All: ; Pádraig Amond (9)
	← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 Newport County A.F.C. season

Newport County 2020–21 football season

The 2020–21 Newport County A.F.C. season was the club's eight consecutive season in the EFL League Two. It was Newport's 68th season in the Football League and 100th season of league football overall. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom fans were not permitted to attend matches until the League 2 Playoff semi-finals and final.

Quick Facts season, Owner ...

On 22 September 2020 Newport County beat Championship club Watford 3–1 at home in the third round of the EFL Cup to reach the fourth round for the first time in the club's history.^[1] Newport were drawn at home to Premier League club Newcastle United in the fourth round and after drawing 1–1 in normal time Newcastle won the penalty shoot-out.^[2] Newport again reached the third round of the FA Cup to face Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion at home on 10 January 2021.^[3] Newport lost to Brighton on penalties having drawn 1–1 after extra time.^[4] On 19 January 2021 goalkeeper Tom King scored the first goal of his career with a wind-assisted goal kick in the 12th minute of Newport's 1–1 League Two draw at Cheltenham Town.^[5] On 21 January 2021, his goal was confirmed to have broken the Guinness World Record for longest football goal, with a distance of 96.01 metres (105 yards), a record previously held by Asmir Begović.^[6] In March 2020 Newport were permitted by the EFL to move two home matches to Cardiff City Stadium due to the poor condition of the Rodney Parade pitch.^[7] Newport finished the 2020–21 season in 5th place in League Two and qualified for the play-offs.^[8] Newport beat Forest Green Rovers 5–4 on aggregate to reach the play-off final for the second time in three seasons.^[9] In the League Two playoff final at Wembley Stadium on 31 May 2021 Newport lost to Morecambe, 1–0 after a controversial 107th-minute penalty.^[10]

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[36] Loan deal cut short enabling a permanent transfer elsewhere.^[35]

[1] [1]
Newport beat Watford

[2] [2]
Newcastle beat Newport

[3] [3]
Newport v Brighton

[4] [4]
Brighton beat Newport

[5] [5]
"Cheltenham Town 1–1 Newport County". BBC Sport. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.

[6] [6]
"British goalkeeper Tom King breaks record for longest football goal". Guinness World Records. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.

[7] [7]
Newport matches switched to Cardiff

[8] [8]
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56953517 Newport reach League 2 play-offs}

[9] [9]
League Two play-offs: Forest Green 4–3 Newport (4–5 agg)

[10] [10]
Morecambe beat Newport

[11] [11]
Bennett rejoins Newport

[12] [12]
"DONE DEAL: Defender David Longe-King joins Exiles". Newport County A.F.C. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.

[13] [13]
"DONE DEAL: Ryan Taylor joins Exiles". Newport County A.F.C. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.

[14] [14]
"Liam Shephard joins Exiles on one-year deal". Newport County A.F.C. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.

[15] [15]
"Kevin Ellison joins Exiles on one-year deal". Newport County A.F.C. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.

[16] [16]
"Jack Evans completes Newport County transfer". Swansea City AFC. Retrieved 8 January 2021.

[17] [17]
"Dom Telford joins Exiles on permanent deal". Newport County – Official Site. Retrieved 28 January 2021.

[18] [18]
"County sign highly-rated defender who has been a huge hit for Welsh champions". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 29 January 2021.

[19] [19]
"Joe Ledley joins Exiles for remainder of campaign". Newport County – Official Site. Retrieved 18 March 2021.

[20] [20]
"DONE DEAL: Saikou Janneh joins Exiles on season-long loan". Newport County A.F.C. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.

[21] [21]
"DONE DEAL: Scott Twine joins Exiles on season-long loan deal". Newport County A.F.C. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.

[22] [22]
"Scott Twine to be recalled from loan at Newport County". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 1 January 2021.

[23] [23]
"Brandon Cooper seals Newport County loan move". Swansea City. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.

[24] [24]
"Bradley Webb joins Exiles on season-long loan deal". Newport County. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.

[25] [25]
"Defender Departs For Newport County On Loan". Lincoln City. Retrieved 16 October 2020.

[26] [26]
"Jamie Devitt joins Exiles on loan until January". Newport County AFC. Retrieved 16 October 2020.

[27] [27]
"Procs completes Newport switch". Rotherham United FC. Retrieved 16 October 2020.

[28] [28]
"Owen Windsor joins Exiles on loan". Newport County AFC. Retrieved 5 January 2021.

[29] [29]
"Loan forward makes swift return to Premier League side from County". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 1 February 2021.

[30] [30]
"Jake Scrimshaw joins Exiles on loan from AFC Bournemouth". Newport County AFC. Retrieved 8 January 2021.

[31] [31]
"Luke Gambin joins Exiles on loan". Newport County AFC. Retrieved 20 January 2021.

[32] [32]
"Anthony joins Newport County on loan". AFC Wimbledon – Official Site. Retrieved 25 January 2021.

[33] [33]
"Striker joins Newport on loan". Mansfield Town – Official Site. Retrieved 2 February 2021.

[34] [34]
Whitely loan to Boreham Wood

[35] [35]
"Marvel loan deal ends to enable permanent move to new club". Ebbsfleet United F.C. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.

[37] [36]
"Marvel-lous news as Fleet make new signing". Ebbsfleet United F.C. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.

[38] [37]
"Leadbitter signs on loan". Yeovil Town F.C. 4 September 2020. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.

[39] [38]
"Kyle Howkins joins Solihull Moors on loan". Newport County – Official Site. Retrieved 21 January 2021.

[40] [39]
"Tristan Abrahams returns to E10 on loan". Leyton Orient FC – Official Site. Retrieved 1 February 2021.

[41] [40]
"Robbie Willmott joins Exeter City on loan". Newport County – Official Site. Retrieved 1 February 2021.

[42] [41]
"Leadbitter arrives on loan". Gloucester City – Official Site. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.

[43] [42]
"Ekpiteta joins Macclesfield". Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.

[44] [43]
"Ade Azeez departs Exiles". Newport County A.F.C. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.

[45] [44]
"Hess Makes His Move". Dover Athletic FC. Retrieved 4 October 2020.

[46] [45]
"Academy Signs Evander Grubb On A Scholarship". Huddersfield Town AFC. Retrieved 23 October 2020.

[47] [46]
Abrahams joins Carlisle

[Retained_List-48] [47]
"Newport County AFC retained list confirmed". Newport County AFC. Retrieved 4 June 2021.

[49] [48]
"Tom King Signs For Salford". Salford City FC. Retrieved 7 July 2021.

[50] [49]
"Joss Labadie departs Newport County AFC". Newport County AFC. Retrieved 12 June 2021.

[51] [50]
"Second signing secured as Joss Labadie joins the Saddlers". Walsall FC. Retrieved 12 June 2021.

[52] [51]
BWFC: "Wanderers Land Wales International Midfielder"

[53] [52]
"Liam Shephard Becomes Signing Number Two". Salford City FC. Retrieved 23 June 2021.

[54] [53]
"Taylor Pens Deal With Mariners". Grimsby Town FC. Retrieved 22 June 2021.

[55] [54]
"Corey Whitely returns". Bromley FC. Retrieved 1 July 2021.

[56] [55]
"EFL Regulations Section 3 – The League; subsection 9 – Method of Determining League Positions". EFL. Retrieved 30 July 2019.

[57] [56]
"Sky Bet League Two fixtures 2020/21". Sky Sports. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.

[58] [57]
"EFL League One And Two Clubs Join Emirates FA Cup After Monday's first round Draw". The FA. Retrieved 28 October 2020.

[59] [58]
"FA Cup second-round draw in full". British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[60] [59]
"Premier League and Championship clubs join Emirates FA Cup After third round Draw". The Football Association. Retrieved 10 December 2020.

[61] [60]
"Carabao Cup Round One draw confirmed". English Football League. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.

[62] [61]
"Carabao Cup: Round Two and Three draw confirmed". English Football League. 6 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.

[63] [62]
"Carabao Cup: Round Four draw confirmed". English Football League. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.

[64] [63]
"EFL Trophy Regional Groups confirmed". English Football League. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.

[65] [64]
Nathaniel MG Cup draw

[66] [65]
2020–21 Welsh League Cup cancelled

[Newport_County_FootballSquads-67] [66]
"Newport County". FootballSquads. Retrieved 13 June 2020.

[Squad_stats-68] [67]
"Squad stats". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 June 2020.

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Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
4 August 2020	CB	Scot Bennett	Free agent	Free transfer	^[11]
20 August 2020	CB	David Longe-King	St Albans City	Free transfer	^[12]
20 August 2020	CF	Ryan Taylor	Plymouth Argyle	Free transfer	^[13]
2 September 2020	RB	Liam Shephard	Forest Green Rovers	Free transfer	^[14]
4 September 2020	LW	Kevin Ellison	Morecambe	Free transfer	^[15]
8 January 2020	CM	Jack Evans	Swansea City	Free transfer	^[16]
28 January 2021	CF	Dom Telford	Plymouth Argyle	Undisclosed	^[17]
29 January 2021	CB	Priestley Farquharson	Connah's Quay Nomads	Undisclosed	^[18]
18 March 2021	CM	Joe Ledley	Newcastle Jets	Free transfer	^[19]

Date from	Position	Name	From	Date until	Ref.
28 August 2020	CF	Saikou Janneh	Bristol City	2 January 2021	^[20]
3 September 2020	CF	Scott Twine	Swindon Town	2 January 2021	^[21]^[22]
7 September 2020	CB	Brandon Cooper	Swansea City	5 January 2021	^[23]
18 September 2020	CB	Bradley Webb	Bristol City	2 January 2021	^[24]
16 October 2020	RB	Aaron Lewis	Lincoln City	2 January 2021	^[25]
16 October 2020	AM	Jamie Devitt	Blackpool	17 January 2021	^[26]
16 October 2020	CF	Jamie Proctor	Rotherham United	17 January 2021	^[27]
5 January 2021	CF	Owen Windsor	West Bromwich Albion	1 February 2021	^[28]^[29]
8 January 2021	CF	Jake Scrimshaw	AFC Bournemouth	End of season	^[30]
20 January 2021	AM	Luke Gambin	Colchester United	End of season	^[31]
25 January 2021	CM	Anthony Hartigan	AFC Wimbledon	End of season	^[32]
2 February 2021	CF	Nicky Maynard	Mansfield Town	End of season	^[33]

Date from	Position	Name	To	Date until	Ref.
20 August 2020	FW	Corey Whitely	Boreham Wood	End of season	^[34]
28 August 2020	CB	Marvel Ekpiteta	Ebbsfleet United	8 September 2020^{[lower-alpha 1]}	^[36]
4 September 2020	RB	Daniel Leadbitter	Yeovil Town	18 January 2021	^[37]
21 January 2021	CB	Kyle Howkins	Solihull Moors	End of season	^[38]
1 February 2021	CF	Tristan Abrahams	Leyton Orient	End of season	^[39]
1 February 2021	RM	Robbie Willmott	Exeter City	End of season	^[40]
2 February 2021	RB	Daniel Leadbitter	Gloucester City	End of season	^[41]

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
8 September 2020	CB	Marvel Ekpiteta	Macclesfield Town	Free	^[42]
14 September 2020	CF	Ade Azeez	Dover Athletic	Released	^[43]^[44]
23 October 2020	MF	Evander Grubb	Huddersfield Town	Undisclosed	^[45]
30 June 2021	CF	Tristan Abrahams	Carlisle United	Free	^[46]
30 June 2021	RB	Ash Baker	The New Saints	Released	^[47]
30 June 2021	CM	Jack Evans	Penybont	Released	^[47]
30 June 2021	CB	Kyle Howkins	Free agent	Released	^[47]
30 June 2021	GK	Tom King	Salford City	Released	^[47]^[48]
30 June 2021	CM	Joss Labadie	Walsall	Free	^[49]^[50]
30 June 2021	RB	Daniel Leadbitter	Gloucester City	Released	^[47]
30 June 2021	CM	Joe Ledley	Free agent	Released	^[47]
30 June 2021	CB	David Longe-King	Grimsby Town	Released	^[47]
30 June 2021	CM	Josh Sheehan	Bolton Wanderers	Free	^[47]^[51]
30 June 2021	RB	Liam Shephard	Salford City	Free	^[52]
30 June 2021	CF	Ryan Taylor	Grimsby Town	Released	^[47]^[53]
30 June 2021	SS	Corey Whitely	Bromley	Released	^[47]^[54]

21 August 2020 (2020-08-21) Friendly	Newport County	1–1	Bristol Rovers	Newport
18:30 BST (UTC+1)	Abrahams		Hare	Stadium: Dragon Park

2020–21_Newport_County_A.F.C._season

2020–21 Newport County A.F.C. season

Transfers

Transfers in

Loans in

Loans out

Transfers out

Pre-season

Competitions

League Two

League table

Result summary

Results by matchday

Matches

Play-offs

FA Cup

EFL Cup

EFL Trophy

Welsh League Cup

Squad statistics

Goals record

Disciplinary record

References

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29 August 2020 (2020-08-29) Friendly	Hereford	0–4	Newport County	Hereford
13:00 BST (UTC+1)		Report	Collins 12' Taylor 49' Janneh 66' Trialist 3 76'	Stadium: Edgar Street

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Cheltenham Town (C, P)	46	24	10	12	61	39	+22	82	Promotion to the EFL League One
2	Cambridge United (P)	46	24	8	14	73	49	+24	80
3	Bolton Wanderers (P)	46	23	10	13	59	50	+9	79
4	Morecambe (O, P)	46	23	9	14	69	58	+11	78	Qualification for League Two play-offs
5	Newport County	46	20	13	13	57	42	+15	73
6	Forest Green Rovers	46	20	13	13	59	51	+8	73
7	Tranmere Rovers	46	20	13	13	55	50	+5	73
8	Salford City	46	19	14	13	54	34	+20	71
9	Exeter City	46	18	16	12	71	50	+21	70

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	20	13	13	57	42	+15	73	13	5	5	27	17	+10	7	8	8	30	25	+5

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	H	A
Result	D	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	L	W	D	D	W	W	L	D	L	D	D	D	L	L	W	L	D	L	W	D	L	W	W	W	L	L	L	W	D	D	L	W	D	W	W	D
Position	10	9	3	1	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	3	7	4	5	5	7	6	6	8	6	6	4	4	5	7	7	7	6	7	7	7	6	5	5

12 September 2020 1	Scunthorpe United	1–1	Newport County	Scunthorpe
15:00 BST (UTC+1)	Loft 58'	Report	Taylor 32'	Stadium: Glanford Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Ben Speedie

19 September 2020 2	Newport County	2–1	Barrow	Newport
15:00 BST (UTC+1)	Shephard 19' Taylor 48'	Report	Hardcastle 28'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Robert Lewis

26 September 2020 3	Bolton Wanderers	0–2	Newport County	Bolton
15:00 BST (UTC+1)		Report	Abrahams 54', 63'	Stadium: University of Bolton Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Chris Sarginson

3 October 2020 4	Newport County	2–1	Mansfield Town	Newport
15:00 BST (UTC+1)	Twine 78' Dolan 88' (pen.)	Report	McLaughlin 69'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Sam Allison

10 October 2020 5	Cambridge United	2–1	Newport County	Cambridge
15:00 BST (UTC+1)	Mullin 38', 61'	Report	Twine 67'	Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Carl Brook

17 October 2020 6	Newport County	1–0	Tranmere Rovers	Newport
15:00 BST (UTC+1)	Janneh 25'	Report		Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Antony Coggins

3 November 2020 11	Carlisle United	3–2	Newport County	Carlisle
19:00 UTC	Alessandra 15' (pen.) Mellish 68', 81'	Report	Devitt 84' Sheehan 90+2'	Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Scott Oldham

12 December 2020 17	Leyton Orient	2–1	Newport County	Leyton, London
15:00 UTC	Johnson 62' Brophy 70'	Report	Proctor 25'	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 1,734 Referee: Tom Nield

15 December 2020 18	Salford City	1–1	Newport County	Salford
19:00 UTC	Clarke 44'	Report	Sheehan 90+4' (pen.)	Stadium: Moor Lane Attendance: 0 Referee: Ross Joyce

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	20	13	13	57	42	+15	73	13	5	5	27	17	+10	7	8	8	30	25	+5

20 October 2020 7	Stevenage	0–1	Newport County	Stevenage
19:00 BST (UTC+1)		Report	Abrahams 8' (pen.)	Stadium: Broadhall Way Attendance: 0 Referee: Lee Swabey

24 October 2020 8	Bradford City	0–3	Newport County	Bradford
15:00 BST (UTC+1)		Report	Demetriou 1' Amond 44' Dolan 90+3' (pen.)	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Declan Bourne

27 October 2020 9	Newport County	2–1	Colchester United	Newport
19:00 UTC	Twine 51' Amond 90+1'	Report	Brown 89'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Peter Wright

31 October 2020 10	Newport County	2–1	Harrogate Town	Newport
15:00 UTC	Amond 30' Cooper 88'	Report	Muldoon 44'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Paul Howard

21 November 2020 12	Newport County	1–0	Port Vale	Newport
15:00 UTC	Ellison 90+6'	Report		Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Alan Young

24 November 2020 13	Newport County	1–1	Walsall	Newport
19:00 UTC	Twine 23'	Report	Adebayo 21'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Charles Breakspear

1 December 2020 14	Forest Green Rovers	1–1	Newport County	Nailsworth
19:00 UTC	Matt 76'	Report	Abrahams 45+2' (pen.)	Stadium: The New Lawn Attendance: 0 Referee: Ben Toner

5 December 2020 15	Newport County	2–1	Morecambe	Newport
15:00 UTC	Amond 11' Dolan 83' (pen.)	Report	Mendes Gomes 32'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Sam Purkiss

8 December 2020 16	Grimsby Town	0–2	Newport County	Cleethorpes
19:00 UTC		Report	Twine 25' Amond 45+1' (pen.)	Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Anthony Backhouse

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	20	13	13	57	42	+15	73	13	5	5	27	17	+10	7	8	8	30	25	+5

19 December 2020 19	Newport County	2–4	Oldham Athletic	Newport
15:00 UTC	Twine 8' Bennett 41'	Report	Keillor-Dunn 14' McAleny 58' McCalmont 85' Dearnley 90+3'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Robert Madley

26 December 2020 20	Crawley Town	1–1	Newport County	Crawley
15:00 UTC	Demetriou 32' (o.g.)	Report	Haynes 5'	Stadium: Broadfield Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: David Rock

16 January 2021 21	Newport County	0–0	Salford City	Newport
15:00 UTC		Report		Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Anthony Backhouse

19 January 2021 22	Cheltenham Town	1–1	Newport County	Cheltenham
19:00 UTC	Blair 45+5'	Report	King 12'	Stadium: Whaddon Road Attendance: 0 Referee: Peter Wright

23 January 2021 23	Oldham Athletic	3–2	Newport County	Oldham
15:00 UTC	Keillor-Dunn 8' Grant 29' Demetriou 74' (o.g.)	Report	Scrimshaw 3' Gambin 40'	Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Chris Sarginson

30 January 2021 24	Harrogate Town	2–1	Newport County	Harrogate
15:00 UTC	March 34' Martin 66'	Report	Scrimshaw 17'	Stadium: Wetherby Road Attendance: 0 Referee: Christopher Pollard

6 February 2021 25	Newport County	1–0	Grimsby Town	Newport
15:00 UTC	Maynard 51'	Report		Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Craig Hicks

9 February 2021 26	Newport County	0–1	Southend United	Newport
19:00 UTC		Report	Clifford 74'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Paul Howard

16 February 2021 27	Newport County	1–1	Exeter City	Newport
19:00 UTC	Telford 88'	Report	Bowman 22'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Tom Nield