Liam Noble and Izale McLeod both bag braces as Notts County defeat Newport in seven-goal thriller

Notts County came from two goals down against Newport County to clinch an emphatic 4-3 win in a topsy-turvy clash at Meadow Lane.

The Magpies got off to the worst possible start when Mark Byrne curled a free kick over the wall and beyond the reach of Roy Carroll to give the Exiles the lead after just five minutes.

In the tenth minute the visitors struck again as Alex Rodman rifled the ball into the roof of the net, which set off a chorus of boos and jeers from the Meadow Lane faithful.

Ricardo Moniz’s side soon got into gear and began threatening their opponents, before Liam Noble seized on a Joe Day error just after the half-hour mark to take the ball round the Newport players and pick his spot accurately, a goal that was celebrated with gusto by the ex-Carlisle man.

Noble then turned provider just before the break when he smashed a free kick against the post, which Izale McLeod picked up and smashed home to send the Kop into frenzy.

The restart saw both teams battle it out in a bid to get the upper edge, and the fifth goal duly went the way of Notts, with McLeod planting a free header into the far post after a sensational Jon Stead ball.

Seven minutes from time it looked like the visitors had salvaged a point when substitute Scott Boden managed to poke the ball into the Notts net following a goalmouth scramble.

However, with six minutes of stoppage time added on due to an injury to Elliott Hewitt midway through the second half, Noble popped up again to pounce from close range in the final minute of added time and send the home faithful into delirium.