Welling United 2 Newport County 0

Match 35/12/988 - Saturday, 24 November 2012 - FA Trophy 2R

Welling United (1) 2 Healy 36, Martin 60
Newport County (0) 0
Att. 441

Entrance: £8 Senior
Programme: £2.00
Mileage: 76/2,225

Match Report

For the first time this season (and with the weather we have been having, I would imagine not the last) a postponed game forced me to change direction from my original destination. The postponement of Tunbridge Wells’ Kent League fixture against Deal Town came as no surprise as their previous home game had suffered the same fate as a result of a waterlogged pitch.

The choice was made therefore to go to Welling to watch the FA Trophy match against Newport County, dubbed by Tonbridge fans as Kinch v Minsh, two former Longmead favourites. That personal encounter was something of a damp squib as Scott Kinch only made the Welling bench and was not used, whilst Lee Minshull was substituted after an hour. Also on the Welling bench was another Tonbridge, and I think I can use the word legend, Jon Main. The Park View Road pitch didn’t look the best, but was perfectly playable.

Newport County came into the game, third in the Conference, but in a poor vein of form having lost four of their previous five games. But they settled into the task in the early stages and Welling goalkeeper Sam Mott was forced to make a couple of good saves. But having survived their early scares, Welling took the game to their Welsh opponents and were worth their lead on 36 minutes when player-manager Jamie Day delivered the perfect cross for Joe Healy to rise at the far post and score with a free header.

There was a long delay in the closing minutes of the first half when Fraser Franks collided with his own goalkeeper and was stretchered off and subsequently an ambulance arrived to take him to hospital. He tweeted later that evening that it was originally thought he had punctured a lung, but, thankfully, it was just bruised.

On the hour, Day produced a carbon copy of his first half cross and this time it was Franks’ replacement Ben Martin that profited at the far post. Ex-Gillingham goalkeeper, Alan Julian, had no chance with either of the goals, but for several fine saves from him, the score could have been quite embarrassing for the Conference high-flyers.

Certainly, this can be considered to be a Trophy upset, but truth was that Newport County were very disappointing and this must have been a really frustrating afternoon for the sizeable Welsh following that had braved the atrocious conditions both at the game and en-route.