2009–10 Newport County A.F.C. season
The 2009–10 season was Newport County's sixth consecutive season in the Conference South and they had been ever-present since the introduction of the Conference North & South in 2004.
Newport County attained promotion to the Conference National for the 2010–11 season on 15 March 2010 with seven league games remaining following a 2–0 victory over . In doing so County became the first team in the English football pyramid system to be promoted in the 2009–10 season.
Season review
League
The season began with optimism that the unbeaten run at the end of the previous season could be maintained. Former manager Tim Harris returned to the club on May 7 as General Manager citing "unfinished business".
The season began with a win and three draws, County finding themselves in 11th position, although with the unbeaten run from the previous season intact. The next five consecutive games were won, with County briefly going top of the table on 5 September although they were knocked off when won an extra mid-week game. The chance to return to the top on the 16th was surprisingly missed when County could only draw with bottom-placed despite taking the lead in the second minute. The next three games were won however, with County going top on 3 October.
The 20-match unbeaten run finally came to an end against mid-table on 27 October. Staines won the game 1–0 although County goalkeeper Glyn Thompson spurned the chance to equalise when his last-minute header came back of the post! As second-placed Dover had also lost, County maintained their top spot.
Of the next 18 games, 15 were won and only three drawn, with County extending their lead at the top of the table.
The run-in
Moving into March 2010, with 32 games played and County already 24 points clear of then second-placed the winning post came into view. With 79 points in the bag, the most any of the chasing pack could achieve was 85. Newport travelled to bottom-placed and duly recorded a 3–1 win. With Chelmsford also winning, the target was still 86. This set up the Friday and Monday games of the 12 and 15 March as the potential championship-winning games. A minimum of four points from those two games would have been enough to see County mathematically promoted to the Conference National irrespective of other results.
A then-record Newport Stadium league crowd witnessed a County victory in the game, setting up the game as the decider. Despite only needing a point to seal the championship, that game was also won in front of new record crowd, sealing promotion in emphatic style.
The following match away to , County suffered only their second defeat of the season, despite again taking an early lead. The next three games were won however before Havant & Waterlooville inflicted revenge for their 2–0 defeat in the championship-winning game by thumping County 4–0, their worst defeat since won by the same scoreline over a year previously!
The final home game
The Conference South trophy was to be presented at the final home game against . Early on in the season this was thought to be the potential championship-deciding match, but instead it turned into a victory parade for County. Another bumper crowd witnessed a 3–0 victory, finishing off the home season unbeaten and taking the team to the 100-point mark.
The following day the team set off on an open-top bus from Newport Stadium to the Civic Centre for a civic reception with the Mayor of Newport.
The final away game
Although there was nothing for County to play for, the game away at was pivotal to the home side's chances of securing a spot in the play-offs. Going into the game a draw would have been enough to maintain fifth place for the home side, but their play-off hopes were effectively over after just eleven minutes. Two early goals for County seemed to have wrapped the game up, but a controversial penalty decision in the 54th minute saw Braintree back in the game and playing the last half an hour against ten men. County held on for a 2–1 victory though to deny Braintree a play-off spot and become the most successful team in the Football Conference's 31-year history.
Results summary
Results by round
Squad statistics
- (Substitute appearances in brackets)
Pos. |
Name |
League |
FA Cup |
FA Trophy |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps |
Goals |
Apps |
Goals |
Apps |
Goals |
Apps |
MF |
Takumi Ake |
3 (3) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
DF |
Paul Bignot |
37 (0) |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
GK |
Keiron Blackburn |
0 (1) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
FW |
Jason Bradley |
4 (2) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
DF |
Paul Cochlin |
29 (3) |
4 |
1 (1) |
0 |
3 (1) |
DF |
Gary Colbourne |
0 (1) |
0 |
1 (1) |
0 |
0 |
DF |
Jamie Collins |
28 (0) |
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
DF |
Aaron Cook |
10 (1) |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
MF |
Kevin Cooper |
4 (1) |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
MF |
James Coutts |
1 (3) |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
FW |
Jamie Davies |
0 (0) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
MF |
Nathan Davies |
0 (3) |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
MF |
Sam Deering |
1 (3) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
FW |
Stuart Douglas |
2 (5) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
FW |
Sam Foley |
32 (6) |
17 |
1 (1) |
0 |
3 (1) |
DF |
Martyn Giles |
13 (1) |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 (2) |
FW |
Dave Gilroy |
7 (15) |
5 |
2 |
0 |
1 (1) |
MF |
Josh Hartrick |
0 (2) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 (2) |
MF |
Charlie Henry |
27 (8) |
9 |
1 (1) |
0 |
2 (1) |
FW |
Ashan Holgate |
5 (5) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
MF |
Kris Leek |
1 (3) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
FW |
Kerry Morgan |
17 (12) |
6 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
DF |
Aaron Morris |
2 (3) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
MF |
Ashley Nicholls |
2 (4) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
DF |
Anthony Peters |
0 (2) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 (1) |
FW |
Craig Reid |
37 (3) |
24 |
1 (1) |
2 |
4 |
MF |
Scott Rogers |
33 (8) |
2 |
1 (1) |
0 |
2 (1) |
MF |
Danny Rose |
35 (3) |
8 |
2 |
0 |
3 (1) |
DF |
Alton Thelwell |
5 (1) |
0 |
0 (1) |
0 |
1 |
GK |
Glyn Thompson |
42 (0) |
0 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
DF |
Chris Todd |
12 (4) |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
MF |
Wayne Turk |
36 (3) |
1 |
1 (1) |
0 |
4 |
DF |
Gary Warren |
36 (1) |
5 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
Most-used starting eleven
Pos. |
Name |
Starts |
|---|---|---|
GK |
Glyn Thompson |
48 |
DF |
Paul Bignot |
41 |
DF |
Gary Warren |
40 |
DF |
Paul Cochlin |
33 |
DF |
Jamie Collins |
32 |
MF |
Wayne Turk |
41 |
MF |
Danny Rose |
40 |
MF |
Scott Rogers |
36 |
MF |
Charlie Henry |
30 |
FW |
Craig Reid |
42 |
FW |
Sam Foley |
36 |
|
|
Loan players
Loans in
Date |
Player |
From |
Until |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
17 August 2009 |
Jason Bradley |
October 2009 |
||
10 September 2009 |
Sam Deering |
October 2009 |
||
15 February 2010 |
Stuart Douglas |
March 2010 |
||
October 2009 |
Kerry Morgan |
End of season |
||
December 2009 |
Aaron Morris |
29 February 2010 |
||
December 2009 |
Ashley Nicholls |
29 February 2010 |
||
January 2010 |
Chris Todd |
End of season |
||
25 March 2010 |
Ben Hunt |
End of season |
Loans out
Date |
Player |
To |
Until |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
August 2009 |
Scott Armitage |
End of season |
||
November 2009 |
Gary Colborne |
End of season |
||
11 February 2010 |
Nathan Davies |
March 2010 |
||
January 2010 |
Josh Hartrick |
?? |
||
October 2009 |
Dave Gilroy |
15 November 2010 |
||
15 February 2010 |
Dave Gilroy |
March 2010 |
||
10 September 2009 |
Kris Leek |
End of season |
||
?? |
Matt Smith |
?? |
||
Managerial statistics
- Only competitive games from the 2009–10 season are included.
Name |
Nat. |
From |
To |
Record |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PLD |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
Dean Holdsworth |
18 May 2008 |
— |
Manager of the Month, September, November, February; Conference South champions |
||
Fixtures and results
Pre-season friendlies
Date |
Opponents |
Venue |
Result |
Scorers |
Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 Jul 2009 |
Cwmbran Stadium |
0–1 |
341 |
||
17 Jul 2009 |
Pen-Y-Pound Stadium |
11–1 |
S.Armitage 4, K.Leek 2, D Maynard 2, P.Cochlin, J.Barrett, J.Davies |
120 |
|
18 Jul 2009 |
Newport Stadium |
0–2 |
558 |
||
21 Jul 2009 |
Jubilee Way |
8–1 |
K.Cooper 2, S.Foley 2 (1P), D Gilroy, T.Ake, T.Piotrowski, D.Maynard |
180 |
|
25 Jul 2009 |
Cwmbran Stadium |
3–2 |
S.Foley 2 (1P), J Hartrick |
231 |
|
29 Jul 2009 |
Newport Stadium |
2–0 |
D.Rose, P.Cochlin |
603 |
|
31 Jul 2009 |
Newport Stadium |
0–2 |
711 |
||
1 Aug 2009 |
Cold Bath Road |
0–0 |
120 |
Conference South
Date |
Opponents |
Venue |
Result |
Scorers |
Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sat 8 Aug 2009 |
A |
704 |
|||
Wed 12 Aug 2009 |
H |
P.Cochlin, D.Gilroy, S.Foley |
1,185 |
||
Sat 15 Aug 2009 |
H |
S.Foley, D.Rose |
1,201 |
||
Tue 18 Aug 2009 |
A |
609 |
|||
Sat 22 Aug 2009 |
H |
S.Foley, K.Cooper, P.Cochlin, C.Reid |
1,042 |
||
Sat 29 Aug 2009 |
A |
J.Bradley, C.Reid, G.Warren |
497 |
||
Mon 31 Aug 2009 |
H |
C.Reid (P), D.Gilroy |
1,404 |
||
Sat 5 Sep 2009 |
A |
C.Reid 2 (1P) |
552 |
||
Sat 12 Sep 2009 |
H |
C.Reid 2, C.Henry, D.Rose, S.Foley |
1,316 |
||
Wed 16 Sep 2009 |
H |
C.Reid |
1,509 |
||
Sat 19 Sep 2009 |
A |
S.Foley |
1,862 |
||
Sat 3 Oct 2009 |
H |
C.Henry |
1,410 |
||
Sat 17 Oct 2009 |
A |
C.Henry |
581 |
||
Tue 27 Oct 2009 |
A |
621 |
|||
Sat 31 Oct 2009 |
H |
J.Collins |
1,241 |
||
Sat 7 Nov 2009 |
A |
C.Reid 2 |
1,680 |
||
Sun 15 Nov 2009 |
H |
D.Rose, K.Morgan |
2,026 |
||
Sat 28 Nov 2009 |
A |
S.Rogers, K.Morgan, C.Henry |
521 |
||
Sat 5 Dec 2009 |
A |
C.Reid (P) |
1,404 |
||
Wed 9 Dec 2009 |
H |
C.Reid 3 (1P), G.Warren, C.Henry |
1,603 |
||
Sat 19 Dec 2009 |
H |
C.Henry |
1,460 |
||
Mon 28 Dec 2009 |
H |
C.Reid 2, G.Warren |
2,205 |
||
Fri 1 Jan 2010 |
H |
S.Foley |
2,525 |
||
Sat 23 Jan 2010 |
H |
C.Reid 2, G.Warren, J.Collins, S.Foley |
1,412 |
||
Sat 30 Jan 2010 |
A |
P.Cochlin, C.Henry, S.Foley |
817 |
||
Sat 6 Feb 2010 |
H |
J.Collins, K.Morgan |
1,449 |
||
Wed 10 Feb |
A |
S.Foley 2, C.Reid (P), C.Henry (P) |
745 |
||
Sat 13 Feb 2010 |
A |
931 |
|||
Sat 20 Feb 2010 |
A |
C.Reid 2 (1P), W.Turk, S.Foley |
742 |
||
Mon 22 Feb 2010 |
A |
C.Todd 2, C.Reid, S.Foley |
1,017 |
||
Sat 27 Feb 2010 |
H |
S.Foley |
2,117 |
||
Tue 2 Mar 2010 |
A |
D.Rose 2, S.Douglas, S.Foley, M.Giles |
686 |
||
Sat 6 Mar 2010 |
A |
K.Morgan, D.Rose, S.Foley |
1,123 |
||
Fri 12 Mar 2010 |
H |
K.Morgan |
3,084 |
||
Mon 15 Mar 2010 |
H |
S.Foley 2 |
4,221 |
||
Sat 20 Mar 2010 |
A |
G.Warren |
406 |
||
Sat 27 Mar 2010 |
H |
D.Gilroy |
1,742 |
||
Sat 3 Apr 2010 |
H |
D.Gilroy, C.Reid, D.Rose, S.Rogers |
1,339 |
||
Tue 6 Apr 2010 |
A |
C.Henry, D.Gilroy, P.Cochlin, C.Reid |
807 |
||
Sat 10 Apr 2010 |
A |
|0–4 |
1,020 |
||
Sat 17 Apr 2010 |
H |
K.Morgan, C.Todd, D.Rose |
3,201 |
||
Sat 24 Apr 2010 |
A |
J.Collins, P.Cochlin |
1,187 |
FA Cup
Round |
Date |
Opponents |
Venue |
Result |
Scorers |
Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2Q |
26 Sep 2009 |
Hand Stadium |
Reid 2 (1P), Davies |
623 |
||
3Q |
10 Oct 2009 |
Winterfield Road |
709 |
FA Trophy
Round |
Date |
Opponents |
Venue |
Result |
Scorers |
Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3Q |
21 Nov 2009 |
Newport Stadium |
K.Morgan, D.Gilroy |
684 |
||
1 |
12 Dec 2009 |
Cherrywood Road |
C.Henry, A.Holgate, C.Reid |
805 |
||
2 |
20 Jan 2010 |
Newport Stadium |
1,040 |
|||
2r |
26 Jan 2010 |
Bootham Crescent |
1,469 |
League table
Pos |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
Notes |- ! style="background:#d0f0c0;" |
1 |
42 |
32 |
7 |
3 |
93 |
26 |
+67 |
103 |
Champions, promoted |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 |
42 |
22 |
9 |
11 |
66 |
47 |
+19 |
75 |
Play-offs |
||||||||||||
3 |
42 |
22 |
9 |
11 |
62 |
48 |
+14 |
75 |
Play-offs |
||||||||||||
4 |
42 |
20 |
12 |
10 |
66 |
46 |
+20 |
72 |
Play-off winners, promoted |
||||||||||||
5 |
42 |
21 |
9 |
12 |
57 |
44 |
+13 |
72 |
Play-offs |
||||||||||||
6 |
42 |
19 |
14 |
9 |
65 |
44 |
+21 |
71 |
|||||||||||||
7 |
42 |
18 |
17 |
7 |
56 |
41 |
+15 |
71 |
|||||||||||||
8 |
42 |
18 |
13 |
11 |
59 |
40 |
+19 |
67 |
|||||||||||||
9 |
42 |
18 |
9 |
15 |
66 |
51 |
+15 |
63 |
|||||||||||||
10 |
42 |
16 |
13 |
13 |
66 |
60 |
+6 |
61 |
|||||||||||||
11 |
42 |
17 |
9 |
16 |
71 |
66 |
+5 |
60 |
|||||||||||||
12 |
42 |
15 |
10 |
17 |
68 |
64 |
+4 |
55 |
|||||||||||||
13 |
42 |
15 |
10 |
17 |
45 |
55 |
−10 |
55 |
|||||||||||||
14 |
42 |
14 |
9 |
19 |
56 |
66 |
−10 |
51 |
|||||||||||||
15 |
42 |
13 |
10 |
19 |
49 |
68 |
−19 |
49 |
|||||||||||||
16 |
42 |
12 |
12 |
18 |
52 |
59 |
−7 |
48 |
|||||||||||||
17 |
42 |
13 |
9 |
20 |
56 |
74 |
−18 |
48 |
|||||||||||||
18 |
42 |
12 |
11 |
19 |
48 |
59 |
−11 |
47 |
|||||||||||||
19 |
42 |
9 |
15 |
18 |
49 |
63 |
−14 |
42 |
|||||||||||||
20 |
42 |
10 |
10 |
22 |
48 |
60 |
−12 |
40 |
Reprieved from relegation, moved to Conference North |
||||||||||||
21 |
42 |
5 |
8 |
29 |
48 |
93 |
−45 |
23 |
Reprieved from relegation |
||||||||||||
22 |
42 |
5 |
7 |
30 |
31 |
103 |
−72 |
22 |
Relegated |
Key |
|
|---|---|
Division Champions |
|
Promoted |
|
Into play-offs |
|
Relegated |
Awards
- September manager of the month: Dean Holdsworth
- September player of the month: Craig Reid
- November manager of the month: Dean Holdsworth
- December player of the month: Charlie Henry
- January player of the month: Sam Foley
- February manager of the month: Dean Holdsworth
Records
This season the club set new Conference South records:
- Most clean sheets in a season: 23
- Consecutive games unbeaten: 21
- Consecutive home games unbeaten: 24
- Most points in a season: 103
- Most wins in a season: 32
- Fewest goals conceded: 26
- Fewest defeats: 3
- Newport Stadium league attendance: 4,221