League 2 table after today's games.

First of all my thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the Notts fan taken ill before the match.

As for the game, I am sure that every individual on that pitch gave their all and we should have been at least 2-0 up by half time, the unfortunate thing is you don't get points for near misses,saves and hitting the woodwork.

I agree with @Fan of Big Tone Matty Platt was fouled prior to them scoring, which to me highlights the standard of refereeing once again.

Over the whole game i thought that several players played well, but one or two were still bedding in and that will come with time. Overall I think we have a team and manager that will do well this season. COYP.

First half we were building nicely, Grant probably should scored even so I thought after basically chasing us the whole time they’d tire and we’d take advantage second half. But that early goal second half rocked us and unfortunately gave them a bit of a boost. I think if we go 1 nil up we win that comfortably. Outside of a long-throw and Norburn heading it to Kamwa, they didn’t do much, I thought on the ball Newport were poor.

In terms of the new boys, Cotter, Iorpenda and Dennis were the pick of the bunch for me. Roos didn’t have a lot to do but I feel he could’ve prevented the goal, other members might disagree but the ball bounces in the 6-yard box for their goal, he’s got come and collect that. I think he needs to be braver with his starting positions. Sonny defended ok, considering he’s a Man Utd academy player surprised he wasn’t always that good on the ball. Only their first match though, so I’m not getting to carried away.

Hard to read too much into it all but you can see the idea to play balls forward quicker is there. I’m glad we didn’t lose in the end but I can’t help but feel timing wise playing Newport after 10 matches or so would’ve been better when everyone is a bit sharper. I think lots of teams (half-decent ones) will go there and win this season.

Obviously very sad to hear about the Notts fan who needed medical care, I hope he we get a good outcome after hearing he’s stable but serious.

Firstly, I hope the person who was taken ill pulls through. Football is just trivial when all's said and done, but how privileged we are to be able to enjoy the trivial things in life. I hope they can join us again in the future.

To the game: I thought I was going to miss this one, but I unexpectedly got to see the second half due to coming home early and of course the delay. Having missed the first half, I probably have a much more negative feeling about that game than the rest of you. The second half was like one of the worst days under Maynard - loads of possession but precious little of it in their third of the pitch and no ideas or goal threat whatsoever - if anything, Newport looked likelier to score.

Roos did not cover himself in glory with their goal and Jones looked like a fish out of water at number 10, although it's early days yet. What perplexed me was playing Edwards as a makeshift wing back despite us having 57 wing backs in our squad (although he did well to be fair), and then taking off our only striker and replacing him with a winger (who barely got a touch). It all looked far too experimental for my liking and we will face much sterner tests than Newport this season.

In fairness though, I didn't see our best moments and we played a lot of new signings who haven't properly gelled yet. Hoping for something better against Salford.

It will take time for the team to gel, but I think after watching the full match replay the first "green shoots" are already starting to show. Newport are a very physical team. In fact their supporters clapped and cheered every bruising tackle and shirt pull. Yet despite that we gave as good as we got. That wouldn't have happened last year. We remember the league game away at Wimbledon, we were out bullied! That won't happen this year. We matched them physically and were the only team trying to play football. Their goal came from a set play. They were never going to score any other way. We created enough chances from open play to win the game. If we can become more clinical in front of goal, the season looks bright.

Edited August 4Aug 4 by McPie

Notts did everything in the first half except score. It was some of the best attacking football we’ve played, and it looked like we were really going for it. A goal then could have changed the whole game.

Newport came out with a different approach in the second half. They put us under pressure and turned it into more of a battle. It took us a while to adjust to what they were doing.

@shuey pie is responsive now, but from the update I have seen, he's groggy and confused due to his treatment. It was a very surreal thing to see; I was trying to find my seat when it was clear someone was receiving CPR. The Newport staff, along with the initial on-site medical team, promptly administered an IV drip. I wasn't aware of who it was; I didn't want to be nosy, but concern did lead me to ask someone who mistold me, "Stevie." It was only upon turning home that I realised it was a friend called Stephen, nicknamed Shuey.

I have been told he's doing better, but it has been confirmed that it was a heart attack. 😢

---

I thought Notts looked very bright, and I wished we had managed to maintain the first-half performance for the whole 90 minutes.

The point is decent enough for our first result, but considering how we started, we need to make sure we are clinical on goal. We could have been at least 3-0 up, but despite feeling like we should have won, I do see more positives. There's always a chance that a team will adapt once given a second-half team talk, and they mostly attacked through Michael Amponsah, who did look like a very good player.

Going back to the first 45 minutes, it did seem like it was a matter of time before we opened the scoring.

Conor Grant had a header saved by the Newport keeper, which denied us a corner kick despite him going down injured. We hit the crossbar; Jodi had two efforts saved, one of which just needed a bit more pace on the strike, but it was a very good effort.

Barry Cottter, Jodi Jones, Matthew Dennis, and Conor Grant were superb in their efforts to start brightly.

Defensively, Matty Platt and Jacob Bedeau looked class, and I thought the young lad from Manchester United did very well. Naturally, there were times when he was outmuscled, but I thought he always recovered well.

The difference in the second half was that urgency had gone, and we started trying to force things.

We were nervous in possession and made some very poor decisions when it came to passing. Much of this came from the way Newport had adapted; it was like watching two different halves, from two different teams. What looked like a training game in the first half became really gritty in the second. I would have liked to see more focus on building a bit more slowly, at least until the final third.

There's also no point in putting in crosses if nobody is there to attack, so those in the area to get forward need to support the wider players by making sure they can be a target.

First game overall, it's perfectly acceptable, and it is promising.

My only criticism is the way we conceded; Newport pulled off a very good, team-worked goal. I did think Matt Platt was fouled, but re-watching the highlights, I can see why it wasn't given as a foul. I think Kelle Roos should have done better to not be beaten so point blank from what looked like a soft header. I watched him come in slow motion, but I think he should have reacted. Defensively, he needed to be better supported, better too.

That first half was one of the strongest away performances I’ve seen from Notts in a while. We looked in control from the start, with the players showing real confidence and composure on the ball. There were some great chances too, including the one that hit the bar, and a few moments where the ball just didn’t quite drop for us.

Jodi Jones was involved in everything positive going forward. He looked sharp and always wanted the ball, linking play and driving us on. It was brilliant to see him step up and take the penalty with such calmness.

5 hours ago, Benji said:

Jodi Jones was involved in everything positive going forward. He looked sharp and always wanted the ball, linking play and driving us on.

i think he lost a bit of his momentum in the second half, i dont think he had the support as much and we did not create space away from the newport players. yet his penalty kick was calmly taken. it was good to see him more like his old self, get his confidence up and his first goal from open play and he will be on fire.

I left the match feeling both frustrated and optimistic. Frustrated because we should’ve had it wrapped up early, but optimistic because the shape and structure looked so much better than last season. Iorpenda impressed me again, he’s maturing quickly in midfield. Thought Roos was unlucky on the goal, not much he could’ve done. Loads of room to improve, but if we play like that most weeks we’ll be near the top.

I thought we looked very well organised and comfortable on the ball for most of the match. The system suits players like Palmer and Jones who can dictate tempo and create chances. We had them pinned back and just couldn’t get the breakthrough early, which always puts you at risk of something daft at the other end, and that’s exactly what happened.

Second half became a bit disjointed but we still kept plugging away. Really liked the impact from Norburn when he came on, added a bit of steel and composure. Penalty was soft but Dennis did well to force it, and Jones made no mistake. Hopefully next week we turn this kind of control into a win.

A few of the differences I will be looking for this season is for the Notts team not to tire as the second half goes on.. Of course they may need to shut up shop on a few occasions as the circumstances demand, but the side did lack goals in the final quarter of most of the matches we played.

I will also be looking for a proactive approach to substitutions. Last season we always saw around the 60 minute mark, several routine substitutions that used to effect the shape, & we also conceded goals just after those substitutions.

I hope that Martin will quickly change things if a particular tactic isn't working, & if that has to include changes, so be it.

Jones looked sharp again. Took that penalty with real composure.