Newport County

Luke Hemmings
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Newport County boss Hayden Mullins believes his side showed how far they have come despite suffering a 5-4 penalty shootout defeat by Plymouth Arygle in the EFL Trophy.

The Exiles looked set for back-to-back group stage wins through Kieron Evans' deflected strike and Yahya Bamba's penalty, only for a much-changed Plymouth to stage a late comeback after turning to their “so-called starters” to earn a draw before claiming the extra point on penalties.

Mullins, who has been in charge for less than three months, said: "Playing against a team full of confidence, top of their division, the boys more than matched them.

"We get a point for the game. We're unbeaten at home [in 90 minutes] still. But it feels like we probably should have won the game.

"We went 2-0 up and the first goal was a nothing ball. [Lee] Jenkins, for all the world, he's just going to head the ball back straight over their heads and he slipped right at the last minute. That let them in and they gained the momentum.

"We could have lost it in the end, but Shaun [MacDonald] made a brilliant save from the penalty in open play to take it to the draw."

A 2-2 draw after 90 minutes means that Newport's unbeaten run technically extends to six preserving their impressive record at Rodney Parade, albeit a defeat on penalties allowed Plymouth to move top of EFL Trophy Southern Group E.

Despite making 10 changes, the performance by his player has left Mullins with a selection "conundrum" ahead of the visit of Colchester United on Saturday, 10 October (1500 BST).

County were without Shaquille Gwengwe and Ciaran Brennan through illness against Argyle, although Gwengwe trained away from the group and will be assessed before Saturday.

With strikers Christian Doidge and Ged Garner the only fully fit senior Newport forwards, there was further encouragement for Mullins with both Kion Etete and James Crole returning to the grass.

"We're not far away from being full strength," added Mullins.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Newport County manager Hayden Mullins is confident that his League Two regulars are feeling the pressure from players on the fringes.

The Exiles boss made 10 changes to his starting line-up for Tuesday's EFL Trophy fixture against Plymouth Argyle.

County led 2-0 through goals by Keiron Evans and Yahya Bamba only for the League One leaders to fight back to draw, then win on penalties.

"I asked the boys to put the pressure on the lads that have been starting regularly in the league, and they did that really well," said Mullins.

"Our group feels good at the moment, there is competition throughout and the boys are taking on board a lot of the information and applying it well.

"It was a really good performance from lads who haven't played too many games.

"It was important that those guys got as many minutes in their legs as they could, because we will need them this season.

"They need to make sure they are in a good position to step in whenever they are called upon."

Full-back Joe Thomas, the sole survivor in the starting line-up from the goalless draw at Gillingham, came off at half-time with a dead leg.

Newport attempt to extend this season's unbeaten Rodney Parade record when they host Colchester in League Two on Saturday, 10 October (15:00 BST).

Luke Hemmings
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Plymouth Argyle beat Newport County 5-4 on penalties after a 2-2 draw at Rodney Parade in the EFL Trophy.

Former Exiles loanee Tyreeq Bakinson equalised in the last minute to earn a share of the spoils for the Pilgrims, who then claimed an extra point by winning on spot-kicks.

Plymouth, who missed a penalty at 2-2, are top of Southern Group E and will claim home advantage for the round of 32 if they beat Swindon on Tuesday, 10 November.

Newport looked set for victory when they led 2-0 through Kieron Evans' deflected effort in the third minute and Yahya Bamba's penalty approaching the hour after Matt Smith was clipped by Tegan Finn.

But Plymouth fought back and Bim Pepple capitalised on a Lee Jenkins slip in the 74th minute to race through and finish past Shaun MacDonald.

Argyle's pressure finally told in the 90th minute when Xavier Amaechi's inviting cross was turned home by Bakinson.

The visitors could have avoided penalties and claimed all three points after Pepple was fouled in the box, but the striker saw his penalty saved by MacDonald.

Newport substitute Michael Adu-Poku was the only player to fail in the shootout with Bradley Ibrahim dispatching the decisive penalty.

The Exiles sit second in the group and are a point ahead of Crystal Palace Under-21s, who they host at Rodney Parade on Tuesday, 3 November.

Luke Hemmings
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

The EFL Trophy is often viewed as a chance for managers to rotate and hand opportunities to fringe players, but Newport County manager Hayden Mullins has made it clear his side will be taking Tuesday's visit of Plymouth Argyle seriously.

County head into the 6 October match with League One opposition at Rodney Parade (19:00 BST) on a five-match unbeaten run and with a large squad that they plan to use.

They opened their Trophy campaign with an impressive 2-0 win away at Swindon Town, where Cardiff City loanee Tanatswa Nyakuhwa caught the eye registering his first goal in amber.

"The Swindon game was a really good opportunity for us to change 10 players," said Mullins.

"It was a game for Jake Turner to get his debut and Tan to get his first start and a number of players to get 90 minutes which was good."

However, both goalkeeper Turner and winger Nyakuhwa will be unavailable for selection this time around as Turner continues to nurse a shoulder injury which could keep him out for a "couple of weeks" and Nyakuhwa misses out while on international duty with Wales U21s.

A bout of illness forced midfielder Kieron Evans and forward Shaquille Gwengwe to miss Saturday's goalless draw at Gillingham.

And Mullins says the fallout from the weekend will influence his team selection as it remains to be seen if the in-form Gwengwe returns.

The striker has already matched Bobby Kamwa's league tally of 5 goals from last season.

Despite making 10 changes for the win at Swindon, Mullins insists Newport's approach does not differ.

"We're definitely going to try and set up to win the game," he said.

"It's a competition that we want to attack and be strong in. Whatever team we put out, we'll definitely be trying to win."

Plymouth also began their EFL Trophy campaign in style, thrashing Crystal Palace Under-21s 5-1 despite rotating their entire starting XI from their previous league victory at Blackpool.

The Pilgrims arrive in south Wales in strong form of their own, sitting top of League One and having lost just once in their last six matches.

Newport, however, will hope to keep their own strong home record going.

The Exiles remain unbeaten at Rodney Parade in all competitions this season with Mullins hopeful of making Tuesday night another memorable one for the home faithful.

"We're playing at home, it's a really good fixture for us," the former West Ham United midfielder said.

"We want to build on the win that we picked up against Swindon.

"It's definitely a fixture and a competition that we want to take seriously, and we want to try and progress in."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Newport top goalscorer Shaquille Gwengwe was one of three County players forced to miss Saturday's 0-0 draw at Gillingham with a stomach bug.

Gwengwe, who has fired five goals in seven League Two games, has been dealing with the illness since last weekend but did attempt to train on Thursday.

He was, though, unable to make the trip to Kent and has since been joined by midfielder Kieron Evans and another unnamed County player out with illness.

With a short turnaround until Newport's next outing at home to Plymouth in the EFL Trophy, Mullins admitted he will have to protect his squad.

"Shaq has picked up a bit of a bug from last Saturday. We haven't [really] seen Shaq all week," Mullins explained.

"He trained for the first time on Thursday, and came in on Friday, and wasn't too well at all. I think he's got a bit of a stomach bug.

"As has Kieron Evans. Another one of the lads felt unwell, too, this morning. We are struggling throughout the camp with a stomach bug, so we will have to be careful.

"We have another game Tuesday - we will have a look at the troops after today and see where we sit for that game."

Newport County boss Hayden Mullins was pleased with the Exiles' performance as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Gillingham, a result that sees them 15th in the League Two table.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Newport County boss Hayden Mullins expects another tough encounter when his side travel to face Gillingham on Saturday, 3 October (15:00 BST).

The Exiles beat Grimsby Town 2-1 at Rodney Parade last time out and are unbeaten in their last three league outings.

But Newport, who sit 17th in League Two, are yet to win on the road this season, while eighth-placed Gills have only lost once at Priestfield Stadium so far.

Mullins, who reported no fresh injury concerns ahead of this weekend's trip to Kent, says County will set up to face a front-footed Gillingham team.

"You always hope it will be entertaining. As a head coach, you want it to be as cut and dry as you see it," he said.

"I'm sure Gareth's (Ainsworth) team will be setting up to beat us. They'll be on the front foot. It'll be a game [where] they will want to attack.

"They got beat on the weekend, so I'm sure they will be setting up to really give us a game. We don't expect anything less.

"This division throws up different results, and we've seen it on Saturday with us. I don't think many people gave us a chance against Grimsby.

"We ended up winning the game. On Saturday, we will be setting up how we feel we can hurt them.

"Like we always do, we'll be going out trying to attack it, and we hope we have a good game."

Recent Gillingham signing Tom Eaves could make his debut against Newport, having been declared fit by Ainsworth, although the boss said he is "a little behind",

Newport County boss Hayden Mullins previews his side's League Two trip to Gillingham on Saturday, 3 October.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Grimsby Town forward Iwan Morgan says Saturday's League Two match with Newport County carries extra significance as he prepares to face a familiar face.

"One of them, Kieron Evans, is my sister's boyfriend," 20-year-old Cardiff-born Morgan told BBC Radio Humberside with a smile.

"It's going to be a nice moment. Two families coming together to watch us play."

Both Evans - who is four years older - and Morgan began their footballing journeys in the Cardiff City academy, before moving on to English clubs to pursue their footballing careers.

Having been unable to break into Brentford's first team, Morgan joined Grimsby in the summer.

The Wales Under-19 international has featured in every league game for the Mariners this season and enjoyed his most productive outing yet in last weekend's 2-0 win over Crawley Town, registering his first goal and assist of the campaign.

Evans, meanwhile, after a string of loans from Cardiff including at Newport in 2024-25 before joining Eastleigh, returned to Rodney Parade on a permanent basis for this season.

He made his first start under Hayden Mullins in the goalless draw at Accrington Stanley.

Despite their off-field connection, Morgan expects any sentiment to disappear when the whistle goes.

"On the day he will be my competitor. We might get into a bit of a tussle," said the Grimsby forward.

"I've been winding him up all week saying, 'I'm going to leave one on you'. I've told him he wants to stay nice and strong because he doesn't want to be looking weak in front of his girlfriend."

And Evans, from the south Wales valley town of Brithdir, shares the same competitive mindset.

"I'll treat him as every other player, but the main goal is to win," the former Wales Under-20 international said.

"We've spoken about it for a couple of years, wondering whether we'll play against each other. So it'll be nice to play against him, but I want to win - that's the main target."

While both players are connected off the pitch, the match throws together two sides at opposite ends of the table.

Newport are 19th and searching for a first league win since the opening day, despite a 2-0 EFL Trophy victory against Swindon this week, while Grimsby remain unbeaten in League Two.

And with the rivalry coming to the fore, Evans joked that he is not sure who his girlfriend will be supporting at Rodney Parade come 15:00 BST on Saturday.

Whatever the result, Morgan expects a memorable occasion with someone he has "massive respect" for.

"At the end of the day, I want the best for him as well," he added.

"It will be nice for my sister to see her little brother and her boyfriend playing on the same pitch.

"I will have a lot of people there. I might have to ask the club to put their hand in their pocket for a few more [tickets]. My nans, my grandad, my best mates will all be there.

"Whatever the outcome on Saturday, it's going to be a great moment for me.

"Hopefully we can walk away with three points."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Newport County winger Tanatswa Nyakuhwa has drawn praise after his impressive performance during their EFL Trophy win over Swindon.

The Welsh U21 international made his first start for the Exiles against the Robins and grabbed a goal and an assist, alongside winning a penalty during the 2-0 win.

Nyakuhwa, who struggled for minutes during his loan spell at County last season, has drawn praise from County boss Hayden Mullins for his efforts so far this season.

"His character, firstly, has impressed me. He's a really upbeat character, a positive lad. He wants the ball, wants to train well, wants to train hard," he said.

"For me, he's been spot on. He hasn't started many games, that was his first start on Tuesday. We've had to build him up.

"He's had a bit of a stop-start pre-season. But we know his talents, obviously, from being here before."

The Cardiff City loanee would have been eyeing up his first league start for the Exiles on Saturday, but he has once again been selected for Wales U21's for their upcoming European Championship qualifiers.

The Exiles welcome 3rd place Grimsby to Rodney Parade as they bid to continue their unbeaten record at home this season.

Boss Mullins expressed his frustration at losing the winger for the international break after his positive performance.

"Tanatswa (Nyakuhwa), for me, he was a constant bright spark. He looked a threat, looked assured. He went for 90 minutes as well, which was good," he said.

"It's just frustrating that he can't build on it again this weekend and the weekend after and we lose him for a little bit. We just hope he comes back in a good place."

Newport County winger Tanatswa Nyakuhwa has drawn praise after his impressive performance during their EFL Trophy win over Swindon.

The Welsh under-21 international made his first start for the Exiles against the Robins and grabbed a goal, assist and won a penalty in the 2-0 win.

And that was enough to earn high praise from manager Hayden Mullins.

"His character has impressed me. He's really an upbeat, positive lad. He wants the ball, wants to train well," he said.

"He hasn't started many games and we've had to build him up. He's had a bit of a stop-start pre-season but we know his talents.

The Cardiff City loanee, who struggled for minutes in his first spell at Newport last season, would have been eyeing up his first league start for the Exiles on Saturday, but has once been selected for Wales under-21's for their upcoming European Championship qualifiers.

Newport welcome third place Grimsby to Rodney Parade as they bid to continue their unbeaten home record this season.

"Tanatswa was a constant bright spark. He looked a threat, looked assured and went for 90 minutes as well," he said.

"It's just frustrating that he can't build on it again this weekend and the weekend after. We just hope he comes back in a good place."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Shaquille Gwengwe will be available for Newport County's upcoming League Two games with Grimsby and Gillingham after pulling out of the Malawi squad.

The forward received his first international call-up for Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against South Sudan and Angola.

That would have led to the summer signing from Poole missing the games against the Mariners and Gills along with the Football League Trophy fixture against Plymouth.

But Gwengwe, who has featured in all seven league games so far, has opted to stay in Wales.

"Following discussions with the Football Association of Malawi, Shaquille has made the difficult decision not to join the squad on this occasion due to the circumstances surrounding this particular window," read a Newport statement.

"Shaquille, who has scored four goals for the Exiles since his arrival from Poole Town this summer, is extremely proud to have been selected for the Malawi national team and remains fully committed to representing his country in the future."

Gwengwe came off the bench in Tuesday's Football League Trophy win at Swindon.

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Manager Hayden Mullins hopes Newport County can build on their away form in League Two after recent encouraging results.

County remain unbeaten at home this season, but their first away point of 2026-27 came in Saturday's 0-0 draw at Accrington Stanley.

Mullins was encouraged by his side'sperformance and hopes they will become stronger on the road.

"The positives for us were definitely the first point away from home. We want to be a strong team like this away from home because we know there's a lot of games and the season's a long one," Mullins said.

"It's important that we're ready and we're right for them. We played in a different shape [against Accrington], which we were happy with. It's the first time we've played that shape.

"We look solid in there, but it's just trying to add that sprinkling of creativity and to create a few more openings for us."

After Saturday's draw at Accrington, the Exiles travelled to face Swindon Town in Tuesday's EFL Trophy opener.

Cardiff City loanee Tanatswa Nyakuhwa grabbed a goal and an assist to help Newport on their way to an impressive 2-0 win, which delighted Mullins.

Mullins told the Newport County website: "I think it was a game which we were really dominant in. I'm really pleased with the clean sheet, but just a little bit of frustration that we didn't add more.

"But for the group of lads who have had to be patient, to give them 90 minutes and minutes on the pitch, it was really pleasing to see the group come together and put on that performance.

"It was one which had pace, energy, creativity and athleticism, and we were tough. We blocked numerous shots and were really tight and compact as a unit."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Newport County kicked off their EFL Trophy campaign with a 2-0 win at Swindon Town on Tuesday.

Tanatswa Nyakuhwa's assist set up Ged Garner for the visitors' opener against their League Two rivals. Garner also saw home goalkeeper Lewis Ward deny him from the penalty spot in the 17th minute.

Wales Under-21s squad member Nyakuhwa, on loan from Cardiff City, improved on that in the 80th minute as he sealed victory for Hayden Mullins' side.

The Newport boss delved into his wider squad for the Southern Group E encounter as a sign of how he will manage resources with league and FA Cup commitments to navigate.

The approach paid off as Newport ended a five-match winless run to condemn the Robins to a fourth successive game without victory.

The Exiles return to league action when they host unbeaten Grimsby Town on Saturday, 26 September (15:00 BST).

Luke Hemmings
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Manager Hayden Mullins says Newport County will utilise their squad depth in the EFL Trophy when they travel to Swindon Town on Tuesday night (19:00 BST).

With a packed schedule, the former West Ham midfielder is planning to make changes as Newport begin a group-stage campaign that also includes Plymouth Argyle and Crystal Palace Under-21s.

"The squad's there and we will use it," said Mullins.

"We've got a lot of games this side of Christmas with the Vertu [EFL] Trophy and the FA Cup at some point.

"There's a lot of games where we can mix the squad up and give people game time, which is good."

Newport's 15 summer acquisitions have given Mullins plenty of options, although international call-ups could limit some choices.

Shaquille Gwengwe has been called up to the Malawi squad, while Cardiff City loanee Tanatswa Nyakuhwa has been called up by Wales Under-21s - so it remains to be seen if they are available for this evening.

Jed Garner could be handed a rare start after playing just 17 League Two minutes this season, while Yahya Bamba is also in contention after being an unused substitute in Saturday's goalless draw at Accrington Stanley.

In midfield Matt Smith may make his first start of the campaign, while Cameron Evans could return after missing the past two matchday squads.

Youngster Harri Pugh is another pushing for an opportunity after former interim boss Chris Todd said during pre-season that he would "definitely play a part in the squad" this season.

Defender Dan Sassi could make his first competitive start for the club, though fellow youngster Moses Alexander-Walker remains unavailable for selection.

The Exiles will hope to end a five-match winless run and generate momentum before unbeaten Grimsby Town visit south Wales on Saturday 26 September (15:00 BST).

The Robins are also searching for form after three games without a win, including a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace Under-21s in this competition.

However, Newport will be wary of Aaron Drinan, whose five League Two goals make him Ian Holloway's leading scorer and a potential danger if selected.