2013–14 Newport County A.F.C. season
# 2013–14 Newport County A.F.C. season

The 2013–14 season was Newport County's first season in Football League Two, 61st season in the Football League and 93rd season of league football overall. This season marked County's return to the Football League for the first time since the 1987–88 season. The club finished the season in 14th place.

## Season review

### League

**2013**

The season started with the visit of Accrington Stanley. This game was selected as one of the Football League's "anniversary fixtures" to mark the 125th anniversary of the first Football League season. With Harry Worley scoring the historic first League goal, a brace from Chris Zebroski and a goal from Christian Jolley 10 minutes into the second half, County won 4–1 and were top of the League Two table. In the next game away to Northampton, Conor Washington scored his first League goal but the club suffered a 3–1 loss. The next home game, the Severnside derby with Bristol Rovers saw County's highest gate of the season; Andy Sandell's first-half penalty being enough to take all three points. The next three games were all drawn 1–1 with County slipping out of the play-off places as a result. The next home game, against Morecambe, will forever be remembered as the "Tom Naylor game": Scoring within three minutes, Billy Jones had made the perfect start to his début game before Naylor scored an own goal to level the match. Robbie Willmott restored Newport's lead before Naylor's second own goal again levelled things. With 20 minutes remaining Naylor conceded a penalty which allowed Morecambe to take the lead and eventually win the game. County's first away win of the season in the next game at Exeter, followed by a home win to Torquay United took County back to the brink of the play-off positions, but following the next two games they were back down to 12th. County then embarked on a successful spell, losing only once at Fleetwood until visiting Burton Albion in the last game of 2013. That last game was lost 1–0, but County finished the year in a play-off position.

**2014**

The new year began in a disastrous fashion: The wettest winter on record in Britain combined with drainage problems with the Rodney Parade pitch caused a rash of game postponements. County failed to beat bottom-of-the-table Northampton and were denied even one point when Andy Sandell's 88th-minute penalty was saved. Previous wins against Accrington, Bristol, Southend and Hartlepool were cancelled out with only two draws to show from the four matches. A solitary home win against Oxford United lifted County back to the brink of the play-offs again, but then another terrible run resulted in only three points from the next eight games. With County now lying in 14th position, any hope of the play-offs was gone. County's first double of the season against Torquay in next game briefly lifted them to 12th, but following the second 0–0 draw with Bury of the season, previous wins against Portsmouth and Chesterfield were cancelled out. Following a home loss against Plymouth Argyle County recorded only their third win of 2014 against relegation-threatened Wycombe Wanderers. In the next two games County squandered leads to draw both games, slipping down to their lowest league position of the season in the process. The penultimate game of the season was the trip to promotion-chasing York. County failed to improve on their recent form as the home side guaranteed themselves a play-off place with a 1–0 win. The final game of the season against Rochdale was an eerie reminder of County's last Football League season in 1987–88. That time the visitors has triumphed 1–0 and they would be hoping for another win to seal the League Two title. Despite taking the lead in the 28th minute, Aaron O'Connor cancelled out the advantage just before half time. Rochdale should have won the game after winning a penalty in the 83rd minute, but Matthew Lund's penalty was saved by Ian McLoughlin. Ten-man County made them pay four minutes later as Robbie Willmott's free kick was headed over Josh Lillis by Kevin Feely to seal a 2–1 victory and a happy end to County's 2013–14 campaign.

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

Last updated: 3 May 2014. Source:

### Results by round

| Round | 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 | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | H | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | W | D | D | D | L | W | W | D | L | W | D | W | L | W | D | D | W | W | W | L | L | D | L | D | L | W | L | L | D | D | L | L | D | L | W | D | L | D | L | W | D | D | L | W |
| Position | 1 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 |

## Squad statistics

    (Substitute appearances in brackets)

| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 21 | DF | Byron Anthony | 7 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 8 (0) | 0 |
| 24 | FW | George Barker | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 |
| | GK | James Bittner | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 |
| 16 | DF | Darcy Blake | 8 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 8 (0) | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Ryan Burge | 12 (5) | 2 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 15 (5) | 2 |
| 7 | DF | Adam Chapman | 35 (4) | 2 | 3 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 1 (1) | 1 | 41 (5) | 3 |
| 9 | FW | Danny Crow | 13 (14) | 3 | 3 (0) | 0 | 1 (1) | 2 | 2 (1) | 0 | 19 (16) | 5 |
| 20 | DF | Kevin Feely | 10 (0) | 1 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 10 (0) | 1 |
| 17 | MF | Michael Flynn | 18 (14) | 3 | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 21 (18) | 3 |
| 24 | DF | Aaron Amadi-Holloway | 0 (4) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (4) | 0 |
| 45 | FW | Rene Howe | 12 (3) | 3 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 12 (3) | 3 |
| 3 | DF | Andrew Hughes | 23 (3) | 2 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 27 (4) | 2 |
| 18 | DF | Ryan Jackson | 26 (3) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 31 (5) | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Tony James | 5 (1) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 6 (2) | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Shaun Jeffers | 4 (10) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 4 (10) | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Christian Jolley | 20 (12) | 2 | 2 (1) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 25 (13) | 2 |
| 16 | DF | Billy Jones | 6 (1) | 1 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 7 (1) | 1 |
| 33 | GK | Ian McLoughlin | 12 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 12 (0) | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Lee Minshull | 34 (6) | 4 | 1 (1) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 38 (8) | 4 |
| 19 | DF | Tom Naylor | 24 (9) | 1 | 3 (0) | 1 | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 (0) | 0 | 31 (9) | 2 |
| 10 | FW | Aaron O'Connor | 1 (3) | 1 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 1 (3) | 1 |
| 20 | DF | Adedeji Oshilaja | 8 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 1 | 12 (0) | 1 |
| 29 | GK | Elliot Parish | 7 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 7 (0) | 0 |
| 27 | FW | Joe Parker | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 |
| 1 | GK | Lenny Pidgeley | 25 (0) | 0 | 3 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 29 (1) | 0 |
| 2 | DF | David Pipe | 22 (3) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 25 (4) | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Max Porter | 15 (7) | 1 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 15 (7) | 1 |
| 26 | DF | Ellis Redman | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 |
| 13 | DF | Andy Sandell | 21 (2) | 3 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 24 (3) | 3 |
| 25 | GK | Jamie Stephens | 2 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 (0) | 0 | 6 (0) | 0 |
| | GK | Conor Thompson | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Conor Washington | 16 (8) | 4 | 2 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 1 | 2 (1) | 2 | 21 (11) | 7 |
| 12 | FW | Robbie Willmott | 40 (6) | 3 | 2 (0) | 3 | 2 (0) | 0 | 3 (0) | 0 | 47 (6) | 6 |
| 22 | DF | Harry Worley | 26 (0) | 4 | 3 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 33 (0) | 4 |
| 6 | DF | Ismail Yakubu | 22 (3) | 3 | 2 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 27 (3) | 3 |
| 11 | FW | Chris Zebroski | 32 (3) | 12 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 (0) | 1 | 35 (4) | 13 |

### Transfers

**In**

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 June 2013 | MF | Adam Chapman | Oxford United | Undisclosed |
| 5 June 2013 | FW | Chris Zebroski | Eastleigh | Free |
| 20 June 2013 | DF | Harry Worley | Oxford United | Free |
| 9 July 2013 | GK | Jamie Stephens | Liverpool | Free |
| 2 August 2013 | DF | Ryan Jackson | Macclesfield Town | Compensation undisclosed |
| 27 July 2013 | GK | James Bittner | Unattached | Free |
| 30 August 2013 | MF | Ryan Burge | Unattached | Free |
| 12 September 2013 | DF | Billy Jones | Unattached | Free |
| 20 November 2013 | FW | Joe Parker | Gloucester City | Free |
| 9 January 2014 | FW | Rene Howe | Unattached | Free |
| 28 January 2014 | FW | Shaun Jeffers | Peterborough United | Undisclosed |
| 6 February 2014 | GK | Conor Thompson | Unattached | Free |
| 13 February 2014 | FW | Aaron Amadi-Holloway | Unattached | Free |
| 21 March 2014 | DF | Darcy Blake | Unattached | Free |

**Out**

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 July 2013 | FW | Rhys Griffiths | Released | |
| 30 August 2013 | GK | James Bittner | Released | |
| 10 January 2014 | DF | Billy Jones | Released | |
| 28 January 2014 | DF | Conor Washington | Peterborough United | Undisclosed |
| 6 March 2014 | GK | Conor Thompson | Released | |
| 24 April 2014 | DF | David Pipe | Released | |
| 5 May 2014 | DF | Tony James | Retired | |
| 5 May 2014 | FW | Aaron Amadi-Holloway | Released | |
| 5 May 2014 | DF | Harry Worley | Released | |
| 5 May 2014 | MF | Ryan Burge | Released | |
| 5 May 2014 | DF | Darcy Blake | Released | |

**Loans in**

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Expiry |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 12 August 2013 | DF | Tom Naylor | Derby County | End of season |
| 31 October 2013 | DF | Deji Oshilaja | Cardiff City | January 2014 |
| 22 November 2013 | FW | George Barker | Brighton & Hove Albion | January 2014 |
| 10 February 2014 | GK | Elliot Parish | Bristol City | March 2014 |
| 11 March 2014 | GK | Ian McLoughlin | Milton Keynes Dons | End of season |
| 21 March 2014 | DF | Kevin Feely | Charlton Athletic | End of season |

**Loans out**

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Expiry |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 20 November 2013 | FW | Joe Parker | Gloucester City | June 2014 |

## Fixtures and results

### Pre-season friendlies

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Wed 10 Jul 2013 | Swindon Supermarine | Webb's Wood Stadium | 2–1 | Washington 33' Jolley 63' | c. 250 | |
| Sat 13 Jul 2013 | Carl Zeiss Jena | Wimaria-Stadion, Weimar | 2–2 | Anthony 31' O'Connor 90' | c. 2,800 | 110th anniversary match |
| Tue 16 Jul 2013 | Taunton Town | Wordsworth Drive | 6–0 | O'Connor 1', 17', 39' Jolley 31' Sandell 80' (pen.) Crow 86' | 279 | |
| Sat 20 Jul 2013 | Havant & Waterlooville | West Leigh Park | 3–0 | Minshull 34' Sandell 61' Pipe 83' | 312 | |
| Tue 23 Jul 2013 | Reading XI | Newport Stadium | 3–3 | Zebroski 7', 26' Minshull 90' | 765 | Tony Gilbert testimonial |
| Thu 25 Jul 2013 | Pegasus Juniors | Old School Lane | 2–0 | Washington 46', 70' (pen.) | | Newport County XI |
| Sun 28 Jul 2013 | Aston Villa XI | Rodney Parade | 5–2 | Jolley 30' 68' Hughes 54' Minshull 59' 80' | 2,984 | |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 12 | Bury | 46 | 13 | 20 | 13 | 59 | 51 | +8 | 59 |
| 13 | Portsmouth | 46 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 56 | 66 | −10 | 59 |
| 14 | Newport County | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 56 | 59 | −3 | 58 |
| 15 | Accrington Stanley | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 54 | 56 | −2 | 57 |
| 16 | Exeter City | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 54 | 57 | −3 | 55 |
