I thought it was a Jekyll and Hyde performance which highlighted the naivety and lack of experience in the squad.
For the first thirty minutes we were very good and in complete control. We passed the ball better and created more opportunities than a poor Newport side that was nowhere near the standard of the teams that we have played in recent seasons. We had several good chances before the opening goal, and at that stage I thought we would see a repeat of the Gillingham performance. However, we had a really sloppy five minute spell where we turned the ball over in midfield and defended our eighteen yard box poorly, resulting in the quick concession of the two goals. Incredibly frustrating, as Newport really were average and their first goal was their first shot of the game. Our game management was very poor in that period, and effectively cost us the game.
We never recovered our composure or confidence after conceding those quick goals. There was no lack of effort in the second half, but we huffed and puffed and created very little. There was very little invention from the midfield and a lot of 'safe' passes, and Newport dropped off and defended deep for the entire half which negated the impact of the wing backs who had no space to run into.
I agree that we could have changed shape to try and get something going, but I agreed with the decision to bring O'Connor on. Both of Newport's goals resulted from a lack of protection for the back five, and we looked weak defensively when possession was turned over in the closing stages of the first half. However, I would have replaced MaClear and left Merrie and Lewis on, both of whom I thought were decent in possession of the ball. Merrie played well in the attacking sense, but did give away possession cheaply in the build up to Newport's first goal which probably influenced Mellon's decision. He clearly does not like the defensive aspects of his game, rightly or wrongly.
Incredibly frustrating, as we clearly had more quality than Newport but simply could not sustain a ninety minute performance.
As an afterword, I have seen some suggestion above that Hemmings is not good enough. Nonsense in my view. He is simply going through a tough period that all strikers have. He could, and probably should, have scored two today from one v ones, so he is still getting in the right positions, even if a finish is currently lacking. The attacking issues are elsewhere, in the lack of competition up front, and the general lack of quality and creativity in the second half performance.
