Newport County host Carlisle United as League Two play-off battle intensifies

When Newport County were originally scheduled to host Carlisle United in late January, both sides were firmly in the hunt for automatic promotion from League Two as they sat within three points of league leaders Cambridge United.

A waterlogged pitch at Rodney Parade denied either side the opportunity to make top spot their own, and the following 10 weeks have seen both the Exiles and the Cumbrians suffer different hardships that have hindered their chances of going up.

Mike Flynn’s Newport saw loanees Brandon Cooper and Scott Twine recalled by their parent clubs after both had made impressive starts to the season, forcing the club to get creative in the transfer market in an attempt to prevent the departures undermining their campaign.

Nicky Maynard, Dom Telford and Jake Scrimshaw have all had an impact since arriving in the January window, with 77-cap Welsh international Joe Ledley also joining as a free agent in March to provide more options in midfield.

Despite these new signings, a run of just two wins in the eight games that followed the Carlisle postponement saw Newport fall from third to eighth in the league table, suggesting their excellent start to the campaign may not get the ending it deserved.

However, a run of four wins in seven that included a temporary move to the Cardiff City Stadium due to the condition of the Rodney Parade pitch has revitalised their season and left Flynn’s side in pole position to secure a place in the play-offs.

They have missed an opportunity to get involved in the automatic promotion chase after winning just once in their last five games, and a season-ending injury to defender Priestley Farquharson has left them light on options at centre-back, but it’s unlikely to matter should Newport hold on to seventh place.

Last Friday, they dropped two points in the closing stages against Mansfield when Stags’ striker Tyrese Sinclair cancelled out Joss Labadie’s goal with just six minutes to play at Field Mill, meaning Carlisle can move above them on goal difference with a win on Tuesday night.

“It’s huge because they (Carlisle) are one of our rivals.

“It’s going to be a tough game and we have to make sure that we’re at it. If we are, hopefully we’ll get the three points that we deserve.”

– Newport County manager Michael Flynn speaking to the club’s website

Carlisle have arguably had an even more testing time of it since the turn of the year.

A major Covid-19 outbreak amongst players and staff saw five games postponed in January before cases at other clubs and inclement winter weather saw another four games in February cancelled, creating a hefty fixture back-log for Chris Beech’s side.

A 2-0 win at Walsall on the opening weekend of 2021 saw Carlisle move top of League Two, yet by the time they had played their fifth game of the year against Salford in the middle of February they had slipped out of the play-off places entirely.

The number of re-arranged fixtures forced upon them means that the Cumbrians have not had a midweek without a game in over two months, going some way to explaining a run of just one win in 13 games that left them in the bottom half of the league table come the end of March.

Hope has been restored in recent weeks though, as a run of three wins in four has seen Carlisle recapture the form that made them such a force in the autumn, and they travel to South Wales on Tuesday night hoping to continue their charge towards the top seven.

A late Offrande Zanzala penalty secured a 2-2 draw in Saturday’s all-Cumbrian affair at Barrow, although a concern for Beech will be that left-back Jack Armer was forced off through injury in second half stoppage-time.

“We played today, they (Newport) played Friday so have an extra 24 hours, they’ll think that’s an advantage – I’m not interested, I’m not bothered.

“Logistically, Carlisle is where we are. We have to look at how we train, recover, travel.

“It’s going to be tough, but we’ll give our best playing against a really good team.”

– Carlisle United head coach Chris Beech speaking to News and Star

Newport lost 3-2 to Carlisle at Brunton Park in November when they were top of the league themselves despite a spirited late comeback that saw them score twice in the final 10 minutes, and even though neither side occupy top spot anymore, Tuesday’s encounter could still have a significant impact on the promotion picture.

With both clubs doing well to overcome their mid-season slumps, a win on for either could provide a helpful boost to their hopes of giving their season an ending befitting of the impressive beginning.

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