Newport County face Doncaster Rovers at the Rodney Parade this Saturday in their second match of the League Two. The hosts are desperate for their first win of the season after a disappointing start while the visitors had a similarly poor start to the season, a win would be extremely important.
The Exiles had a tough start to the season and a thrashing at the hands of Accrington Stanley left them in 23rd, saved from the bottom spot merely by goal difference. Newport conceded one less goal than Notts County leaving them hanging just above rock bottom of League Two.
Newport travelled to Accrington Stanley for their opening game of the season for a miserable away day. Jack Nolan opened the scoring for Accrington, followed by Shaun Whalley and Korede Adedoyin late in the closing stages of the game giving Accrington the 3 - 0 win to start their campaign. Though The Exiles had an impressive 19 shots, only two were on target in comparison to Accrington’s 16 shots with eight on target.
Newport drew Charlton Athletic in the First Round of the League Cup where they dispatched the League One side 3 - 1. Though Charlton took the lead through Daniel Kanu in the first half, goals from Aaron Wildig, Will Evans and Sebastian Palmer-Houlden helped Newport to the Second Round.
Doncaster also had a disappointing start of the season, their opening day loss leaving them in 19th in League Two. However, their goal difference didn’t take as big of a hit as others in the league leaving them well within reach of a higher spot with a win this weekend.
The Rovers’ opening weekend loss came against Harrogate Town where Doncaster slumped to 1 - 0 loss. Doncaster had more shots than Harrogate but of their 12 shots, only three were on target in comparison to Harrogate’s six shots on target. Jack Muldoon was the singular goal scorer after Abraham Odoh was fouled by Joseph Olowu and conceded a penalty.
Doncaster’s midweek clash against Hull City in the First Round of the League Cup ended with The Rovers earning a spot in the Second Round. Hull took an early lead within three minutes with a goal from Oscar Estupinan but goals from George Miller in both halves gave Doncaster a 2 - 1 win and good momentum going into this weekend.
Newport and Doncaster have met 46 times in their histories with no team having a massive advantage. The hosts have won against Doncaster on 19 occasions whereas Doncaster have taken all three points 16 times, with the remaining 11 encounters ending in a draw.
In the last five meetings, Newport have won twice, Doncaster have won twice and there has been one goalless draw. The most recent win came in April for Newport, a 3 - 1 win in the league, and with the momentum of a big midweek win against a League One side, it may end with Newport with all three points again.