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Forest Green Rovers
Matchday Preview

VsNewport (A)

February 20th 2021Noah Dougherty

Mark Cooper’s men make the comparably short trip to South
Wales tomorrow, to face Michael Flynn’s Newport County.

With last night’s fixture between Newport Gwent Dragons and
Leinster in the rugby Pro14 league taking place on the Rodney Parade pitch, the
League Two clash was moved to a 1pm kick off on Sunday.

Here is all you need to know ahead of the game:

What we said:

“With the pitch the way it is, Newport have said that they
have to have a different way of playing for the rest of the season,” explained
Mark Cooper.

We need spells where we control the game.

“I think they’ll probably prefer playing away from home, but
knowing them, they won’t make too many excuses.

“It’ll be about on the day and getting on with it.”

What they said:

"A win would be huge," said Newport boss Michael Flynn.

"There are a lot of things that have gone wrong and
we’re not in a good run of form. We should’ve won the last two, but we didn’t -
that’s where we are at the moment. 

"We want to go on a run and win some football matches,
but there are only a few teams who are winning more than two in a row."

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Team news:

Dan Sweeney is unavailable for this one after picking up an
injury in Tuesday night’s dramatic win over Oldham Athletic, but Rovers are
otherwise without injury or illness concerns.

Key Player: Josh Sheehan

Midfielder Josh Sheehan, known for his driving runs through
midfield and eye for goal, has been a Newport mainstay for several seasons.

The 25-year-old has over 150 appearances for the Exiles,
chalking up fourteen goals, including two so far this campaign.

His impressive form earned him a first Wales call-up at the
end of last year, coming on for the second half in a friendly against the USA.

Last time we met:

Jamille Matt's second half equaliser for Forest Green denied
former side and League Two leaders Newport County at The innocent New Lawn in
December.

Tristan Abrahams gave County the lead from the penalty spot
in first half stoppage time after Joss Labadie was fouled.

But Matt, released by County in the summer, slotted home
from close range following Matty Stevens' cross in the second half.

Head-to-head:

Rovers have picked up four wins in all competitions in this
fixture, Newport holding a narrow lead with five.

While seven of the 16 meetings between these sides have
ended in a draw, there has yet to be a season where neither has won a game
against the other, the Exiles winning the only clash in the curtailed 2019/20
campaign.

If recent history is to repeat itself, this one could be a
cracker. Forest Green have scored 12 goals in their last three visits to Rodney
Parade, witnessing a hattrick on two of those trips.

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Coverage:

This game will be available to watch live by
subscribing HERE, or
you can listen to the game with our audio service HERE, both
abroad or in the UK.

Please contact fgrtv@streamamg.com if
you have any issues with your FGR Live account.

Full commentary of Saturday’s match will also be available
on BBC Radio Gloucestershire on 1413AM.

Stay up to date also on Twitter and Instagram by following
@FGRFC_Official, which will have all of the team news before kick-off and
updates throughout the game.

There will also be key updates and team news on Facebook.
Round-up the clash by checking out the club website where there will be a full
report looking back on the encounter.

End Stop

Recommended
"Newport have been great this year," Cooper
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