A last-gasp Charlie Henry goal gave Newport County three points against Staines Town on Saturday.
A game that nearly fell foul of the weather wasn’t settled until 60 seconds from time, but County won’t mind as they now hold a mammoth 12-point lead at the top of the Blue Square South and still have a game in hand over nearest rivals Dover.
Championship form is grinding out wins when you don’t play particularly well, and this was a Christmas bonus for County, who needed Henry’s effort seconds from full time to claim three points.
On a bitterly cold afternoon there were few clear-cut chances for either side. Staines should have taken the lead in the first-half, Glyn Thompson’s point-blank reaction save kept the score at 0-0.
The Exiles could well have gone ahead in the second period when an excellent cross from Jamie Collins from the right touchline reached Garry Warren at the back-post; only five yards out the goal was at his mercy but he angled his header over the bar as the frustration continued for the home side.
Staines themselves produced an excellent headed chance as County failed to clear a corner, but an effort over the crossbar maintained the deadlock.
Seconds remained when Kerry Morgan latched onto a long throw-in and muscled away from two defenders, sliding the ball across the edge of the penalty area for Charlie Henry to turn inside his marker and smash a left-foot strike into the bottom-right hand corner.
Cue delirious scenes as County celebrated the winner. Henry did well to create space for the shot and then place it perfectly beyond the Staines goalkeeper to hand his side the points.
By Alex Winter
Alex is a journalism student and edits Gloucestershire cricket blog, The Shire Blog
