Ground #245 - Rodney Parade

Date: 17th October 2017
Ground: Rodney Parade
Location: Newport, Wales

My twenty-ninth new ground of 2017 was on Tuesday 17th October at Rodney Parade in Newport, Wales. The match was Newport County vs. Colchester United in Football League Two.

Rodney Parade is close to the River Usk which runs through the city of Newport. The south-western side of the ground leads through to the Newport City Footbridge which links it to the new retail district and the rest of the city centre. The north-eastern side is bordered by housing with a primary school to the south-eastern end and the other half of the Newport sports complex to the north-western end. The ground is one mile east of Newport railway station on the other side of the river. Built in 1887 the venue has predominantly been used for rugby during its history. Newport County have played there since 2012 when they left the Newport Stadium after 18 years at that ground.

The entire length of the north-eastern side of the ground is taken up the Bisley Stand which was constructed in 2011. The smart stand has a capacity of 2,526 and includes corporate hospitality boxes at the back of the seating deck. There is also a TV gantry which overhangs the seating in the centre of the stand. The eastern section of this stand is usually given over to away fans. If there is a particularly large away following the other section that can be utilised is the uncovered Sytner Stand behind the goal at the south-eastern end. This temporary stand has been added to the venue in recent years and was last extended in 2013. Directly behind the stand is a large screen TV and there is a club building in the corner which includes the dressing rooms.

The Hazell Stand sits on the south-western side of Rodney Parade. This stand has a raised all-seater upper section which can house 1,996 spectators. Due to the stadium primarily being a rugby one its eastern end into the corner. The western end extends up level with the 18-yard line. The lower section is a concrete terrace but this is covered as the roof, which contains a number of supporting beams, goes out over this near to the edge of the pitch. The two dugouts by the half-way line are nestled very close to this standing section. With the stand stopping at the 18-yard line the final section of this side is uncovered terracing. The Grafton Road End is an uncovered concrete terrace. This end backs onto the rest of the complex which includes a full-size rugby/football pitch, a family zone including a large gazebo structure and a car park. There are a few additional buildings including a football club shop at the far end, a couple of Newport Gwent Dragons specific structures and a hospitality building in the corner with the Bisley Stand.

An even first half saw little in the way of chances in the opening period. The best one came in the 33rd minute as Doug Loft threaded a defence-splitting ball through to Brandon Hanlan who raced into the area. Newport keeper Joe Day reacted quickly and was able to close Hanlan down and deflect the shot into the side netting. Newport's best chance came in the 54th minute when David Pipe showed strength to win the ball in midfield before an excellent pass unleashed Pagraid Amond in on goal. Sam Walker was a match for him though and was able to palm the ball away to safety. From the resulting throw-in the ball was whipped in from the left and headed out as far as Ben Tozer on the edge of the area. Tozer shot into the danger zone and a deflection on the way through saw the ball come back off the post. The visitors managed to escape unscathed from this period of the game and in the 71st minute got their noses in front. Brandon Hanlan advanced from midfield, laid the ball off to Mikael Mandron on the left and his ball across the box was missed by a couple of players before landing at the feet of Ryan Jackson. The Colchester wing-back controlled the ball and shot low into the net from 12 yards out. Five minutes later Colchester doubled their lead when Sean Murray's free-kick into the area was flicked on by Mandron with the ball just getting past the outstretched arm of Joe Day before nestling in the bottom corner. Once going 2-0 up the away side sat very deep inviting Newport on. It was no surprise when the visitors grabbed a goal back in the 86th minute as Shawn McCoulsky headed in Dan Butler's lofted ball. The visitors seemed to realise at this point that continuing to sit deep would see Newport get more opportunities so modified the tactics accordingly and in the final minutes were more successful at running down the clock preventing the hosts from getting back on the ball. The full-time whistle signalled the first home defeat for County since March as Colchester went back to Essex with all three points.

Result: Newport County 1-2 Colchester United
Division: Football League Two
Attendance: 2,704

Ground #234 - St George's Park

Date: 5th August 2017
Ground: St George's Park
Location: Newport, Isle of Wight

My eighteenth ground of 2017 was on Saturday 5th August at St George's Park in Newport, Isle of Wight. The match was Newport (IoW) vs. Guildford City in the F.A. Cup Extra Preliminary Round.

St George's Park is on the south-eastern outskirts of Newport - while the town is not close to any railway stations there are regular bus services connecting it to the ferry ports at Ryde and Cowes. Until recently the ground was mostly surrounded by fields and wooded areas. However construction of a retail park bordering the ground is ongoing and the club have been given notice to vacate the site in the summer of 2018. The venue has been home to the club since 1888 so this will see the end of a 130-year stay.

The main stand is on the west side of the ground. This structure has 300 seats with supporters assigned the left and right thirds of the stand. The middle section is given over to officials and is also split by the players tunnel which leads back to dressing rooms. The interior of the stand also includes the main facilities and a directors box and boardroom at the top of it which look out onto the pitch. The two dugouts which drop below pitch level are in front of the stand. There is one additional building on the western side which houses a snack bar and toilets and there is a flat concrete viewing area in front of this. Other than this the rest of this side is uncovered standing.

The remainder of the ground is hard standing with a strip of concrete behind the barrier and decent grass sized areas behind this. Each of the three sides also have one covered area with the eastern one by the half-way line and the northern and southern ones directly behind the goals. The eastern and southern sections have one raised level with a large flat concrete section with the northern end having two raised levels of concrete.

The game was between Wessex League Premier Division side Newport (IoW) and Combined Counties League Premier Division side Guildford City. Guildford started well creating a couple of decent chances in first couple of minutes. Newport were on the back foot in the opening part of the match but had their first half-chance in the 23rd minute when Jake Ballentyne fizzed a low shot from 30 yards out requiring visiting keeper Luke Badiali to get down quickly to palm the ball to safety. In the 39th minute the hosts took the lead - it came about when the visiting right-back went down injured which left a gap for Charlie Urry to race into. Urry was then able to beat the last defender and goalkeeper in one move and roll into an empty net from 12 yards out. Guildford very nearly equalised in first-half injury time after a header from a corner was saved on the goalline by Newport shotstopper Gary Streeter. The away side started the second half well and went close again in the 48th minute after Louie Downey's weak shot squirmed through keeper Gary Streeter's legs. Fortunately for Streeter there was a covering defender in the shape of Will Quigley who cleared off the line. Newport's respite didn't last long though as four minutes later Guildford did get back on level terms - a corner was whipped into the home area and bounced up kindly for Kieran Campbell who smashed home from 12 yards. The Combined Counties League side continued to attack and in the 68th minute Gary Streeter had to be on good form to produce a double save to deny Campbell his second and then Downie on the rebound. The next goal surprisingly came from Newport - after going after the home goal the hosts were able to break on the counter. An initial shot in the area was cleared off the line but as Charlie Urry went for the rebound he was clattered into. The referee pointed to the spot and Aiden Sainsbury shot low sending keeper the wrong way. Newport's hopes of advancing to the next round took a hit in the 81st minute when City drew level for the second time of the day. One of the away midfielders did well in the middle of the park before threading the ball through to Kyen Nicholas who poked past the advancing Streeter. Both sides were keen to avoid a weeknight replay on the mainland so went for it in the final minutes trying to snatch a winner. However neither side could grab the crucial fifth goal meaning they would have to do it all over again.

Result: Newport (IoW) 2-2 Guildford City
Competition: F.A. Cup
Attendance: 174