League Two’s promotion fight continues as Mansfield Town take on Newport County at Rodney Parade

Sitting sixth and seventh respectively ahead of the game in South Wales, Mansfield Town and Newport County are experiencing very different runs of form.

The Stags are on a fantastic 11-game unbeaten run, which featured eight consecutive league victories and saw them break a club record in the process.

Newport, on the other hand, have stuttered in recent weeks and have failed to record a win in their last three fixtures with one draw and two defeats.

Before that, however, the Exiles recorded four league wins on the bounce with League Two’s top goalscorer, Dom Telford, an integral part of the side.

The 25-year-old has been in the form of his life and has recorded 21 goals and one assist so far this season, averaging a goal contribution in every game he has featured for Newport.

Last time out for the Stags, they travelled to the Memorial Stadium to take on Joey Barton’s Bristol Rovers. The encounter was very much a game of two halves with the amber and blues gaining the upper hand in the first half and the Gas on top in the second half.

At the end of the 90 minutes, the deadlock was not broken as the two sides played a goalless draw, which in hindsight, is a positive result for them.

James Rowsberry’s side looked to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat against Northampton Town in midweek as they faced relegation-threatened Oldham Athletic.

Ryan Haynes gave the Exiles a 1-0 lead after 14 minutes and the hosts looked destined to secure a win from that point.

However, Davis Keillor-Dunn equalised just before the half-hour mark for Oldham but top goalscorer Telford was there to restore Newport’s advantage in the 40th minute.

The Latics turned the game on its head with two goals from substitute Mike Fendop as the dominating hosts looked to lose for the third consecutive time. In the 89th minute, Mickey Demetriou was on hand to earn a point for the Exiles against the 10 men of Oldham as the Welsh outfit escaped humiliation after their bombardment of the visiting goal.

Games between Newport and Mansfield are always exciting, none more so than the play-off semi-final in the 2018/19 season with the Exiles beating the Stags on penalties to secure a place at Wembley for the final against Tranmere Rovers.

In the reverse fixture at the One Call Stadium in August, Nigel Clough’s men came out on top with a 2-1 victory over the Welsh outfit.

George Maris put the Stags ahead momentarily before Robbie Willmott’s goal levelled the game up. Skipper Ollie Clarke had the final say as his thumping effort just before half-time secured the three points for Mansfield and continued their winning start to the league season.

A battle between two promotion candidates is likely going to be a tight affair and a tricky one if the game does go ahead. With tricky conditions set to take centre stage once more, the game could be won by one lucky goal at either end of the pitch.

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