So all the Welsh sides go out of the League Cup on the same night. Oxford showed some of their L1 credentials and perhaps a bit of reality check for County but couldn't quite get the goal to ignite the game.


See Match Report below on Medium:




Will post later to unofficial site:
http://www.upthecounty.co.uk

See you at Port Vale

Cheers
Mark

Bit harsh on Bakinson and Bennetts!

3-0 really doesn't do justice to Newport. Bar a crazy first five minutes, it could've been a real contest. I can't help but wonder what would've happened if Joe Day had started - Townsend looks okay, but I'd wager that Day would've communicated with Demetriou and collected Garbutt's cross which led to the first. Not much could be done about the second, but Townsend positioning wasn't perfect.

That aside, there were plenty of positives and a few slight worries:
Demetriou and Franks: I really do think we've got the best centre back pairing in the fourth division. The own goal was one of those things, but the pair of them were excellent after that. Add to the mix Butler and Forbes, and this is a very talented side, defensively.
Bakinson: Hard to maintain his exceptional run of form forever, and a night to forget for him. A couple of wild shots, and struggled to create the space for himself he's had in recent games. He'll need to be prepared for the fact that sides will mark him out of the game now.
Crofts: Was he playing? Can't say I noticed him until he was brought off!
Matt & Semenyo: The big worry for me is that our second string forward line is not up to the job. Amond and Harris are a proper handful (Podge was great when he came on), but these two are way off the pace.

A pity to go out in the manner we did, as a third round tie would have been useful financially - but I've seen enough in the games I've watched so far to feel increasingly optimistic about a top-half finish.

I thought O'Brien may have got a chance last night and Pipe. Certain players needed game time and we should be fresher now and will benefit for it Saturday. The midfield was a little flat and it was enough for Oxford to press hard and their full backs did that well. Bakinson was marked tightly so we never really got to push them back until late on but deserved at least a goal. Think we will learn a fair bit from the game though despite the score.