Newport County away preview

[Sweden Stag]

For the fourteenth consecutive season in preview history, a record, the Stags now take on the side which followed the Stags into League Two a decade ago, namely Newport County.

And both sides are also the only surviving ones from the 2013-14 League Two line-up inasmuch as Exeter City at the end of the 2021-22 season gained a deserved long-overdue promotion into League One.

A Mansfield v Newport fixture is also now the most previewed one as well in two decades of preview history. This is now the 31st consecutive Mansfield v Newport one (apart from League games, two playoff fixtures in 2018-19 and an FA Trophygame in 2010-11). Second most are Cambridge previews, 30 in overall, but in three different spells in all competitions including the FA Cup second round and a replay in 2014-15

And during that time, both sides have also been on the losing side in playoff finals, Newport County twice and the Stags once.

And in October 2022, it was to be Coughlan’s first visit to One Call for almost exactly two years as he was axed hours after a disastrous 2-4 home defeat to Barrow on October 27, 2020. While at the Stags, Coughlan did not pull up any trees at all as he managed just four wins stretched from the curtailed 2019-20 season into nine games of the 2020-21 one. One of those victories was in fact against Newport County on February 15, 2020 thanks to a first-half Danny Rose strike. From that line-up, none is now at the Stags. Coughlan has fared better at Newport, who after the 2-0 defeat at One Call last November have catapulted up the table from being well inside the bottom half into the top half and after the defeat at Mansfield ended Stockport’s 12-match winning run by beating the Hatters 2-1 at Rodney Parade. More recently, the Exiles have drawn against Crewe and beaten Wrexham at headquarters as well as giving Manchester United more than a match in the fourth round of the FA Cup, only to bow out to a respectable 4-2 scoreline, but not without a big scare for M.U.

Currently, the Stags head the League Two table following the 5-1 home rout of Salford last weekend, while Newport after having been beaten at MK Dons last Saturday, beat Harrogate away to a 4-1 scoreline in midweek.

In the Salford game, their 20+ goal striker Smith was marked out of the game and subbed late on. Newport have one as well, Will Evans, 24 in all competitions, 20 of those in League Two. Will it be a game between Evans and Keillor-Dunn in front of goal on Saturday?

The first Newport preview was a game at Newport in the Conf National on September 18, 2010 in a fixture which saw two twin brothers in opposite dugouts for the first time ever, Dean Holdsworth for Newport and David Holdsworth for the Stags.

And when the sides met at Newport on the opening day of the curtailed 2019-20 season, it was also the third time in just four seasons the sides had done so (twice at Newport, once at Mansfield). And for the fourth time overall as the two sides which went on to be promoted together from the current National League clashed at One Call Stadium on the opening day of the 2012-13 season.

Not for nearly 60 years, the Stags had played any League sides for ten consecutive seasons. Last time this happened, it was against Wrexham between the 1947-48 and 1961-62 seasons, eleven of those in the old Division 3 (N), then two in the old third as founder members, then two in the old fourth after being relegated together in 1959-60.

Since pulling off a great relegation escape in 2016-17, Newport fared much better for a few seasons, eventually ending up in 11th position in 2017-18, followed by being 7th in 2018-19. In the 2020-21 season, the Exiles finished 5th but for the second time in three seasons, they lost the final by the only goal of the game. While Tranmere progressed in 2018-19, Morecambe did the same two campaigns later.

After two defeats at Newport during the Conf days, the Stags went on to winning runs. The 1-0 defeat in 2012 was followed by thirteen Stags wins, one draw and one defeat before unluckily losing the playoff semifinals against York City, who a few years ago became the first side to be relegated from League Two and Conference National in successive seasons, now back in the Conf National after a late rally and a playoff final victory against Boston United, then managed by Paul Cox, a former Stags boss..

And the 2-0 defeat at Newport in February 2013, incidentaly reffed by the same official who was in charge of the playoff semi-final first leg at Newport in 2019 (details checked). was followed by the Stags’ record 12-match winning run on the way to the title and subsequent FL return. Newport followed a few weeks later after two late goals against Wrexham in the playoff final.

While the Stags have averaged more than two goals per home game against the current Newport club, the goals at Newport have been fewer. Just look at the stats below.

Played for both sides (old Newport club): Walter Akers, Neville Chamberlain, Roddy Collins, Fred Flanders, Dai Jones, Kevin Kent, Terence Melling, John Moore, Tommy Pritchard, Mick Vinter, Alan Waddle.

Current Newport club: Jon Challinor, Adam Chapman, Harry Charsley, Rob Duffy, Matt Green, Alex Fisher, Anthony Hartigan, Kyle Howkins, Otis Khan, Aaron Lewis, Jefferson Louis, Nicky Maynard, Tom Naylor, Aaron O'Connor, Lenny Pidgeley, Mitchell Rose, Glyn Thompson..

Managed both sides: Graham Coughlan.

League game stats against the old Newport club:

Home:P 9, W 6, D 2, L 1, GF 14, GA 7 
Away:P 9, W 3, D 2, L 4, GF 7, GA 7 

Home games Away games 

1937-38 1-1 1937-12-04 0-1 1938-04-16 Division 3 (S) 
1938-39 0-2 1939-11-01 0-0 1939-04-01 Division 3 (S) 
1958-59 2-1 1959-01-31 0-1 1958-09-13 Division 3 (old) 
1959-60 3-1 1959-11-21 1-0 1960-04-09 Division 3 (old) 
1962-63 2-1 1963-04-20 1-1 1962-12-01 Division 4 (old) 
1972-73 0-0 1973-03-26 1-0 1972-09-02 Division 4 (old) 
1973-74 2-1 1974-02-24 0-2 1973-10-09 Division 4 (old) 
1974-75 3-0 1974-12-28 1-2 1975-03-31 Division 4 (old) 
1986-87 1-0 1986-11-25 3-0 1987-03-17 Division 3 (old) 

Current Newport club: 

Home:P 14, W 9, D 4, L 1, GF 32, GA 11 
Away:P 13, W 3, D 4, L 6, GF 12, GA 16 

2010-11 3-3 2011-02-12 0-1 2010-09-18 BSP 
2011-12 5-0 2011-09-10 0-1 2012-02-18 BSP 
2012-13 3-4 2012-08-11 0-2 2013-02-12 BSP 
2013-14 2-1 2014-03-08 1-1 2013-09-07 League Two 
2014-15 1-0 2014-08-19 1-0 2015-03-03 League Two
2015-16 3-0 2015-10-03 0-1 2016-03-05 League Two
2016-17 2-1 2017-02-25 3-2 2016-08-06 League Two
2017-18 5-0 2018-02-13 1-1 2017-10-21 League Two
2018-19 3-0 2018-08-04 0-1 2019-02-09 League Two
2019-20 1-0 2020-02-15 2-2 2019-08-03 League Two
2020-21 1-1 2021-04-09 1-2 2020-10-03 League Two
2021-22 2-1 2021-08-14 1-1 2022-02-19 League Two
2022-23 0-0 2022-10-25 2-1 2023-04-18 League Two
2023-24 2-0 2023-11-18 (at One Call) League Two

Expect a good test on Saturday. Come on Mansfield!