Mark Fletcher in charge of the team tonight made one change from the team that started against Alresford on Saturday. With Jon McKie moving to Totton, Dan Vale came into the side with recent signing Alex Harvey on the bench.

The damp drizzle of early evening gave way to a clear moonlit sky. In front of a sparse crowd, it was Romsey who kicked off attacking the Allotment end.

Newport had a lucky escape after only a minute when a cross from the Romsey left found Simon De’ath unmarked in front of goal but his header struck the underside of the crossbar without crossing the goalline.

Newport were again in trouble after 7 minutes when Simon De’ath raced onto a through ball only to be blocked by Cameron Farley outside the penalty area. Fortunately two defenders had managed to race back so Cameron Farley was only shown a yellow card

On 24 minutes, Newport created their best opportunity so far when Dan Vale raced on to a through ball from midfield but his shot was stopped by the outstretched arm of Matt Brown.

From a corner, Romsey squeezed the ball into the net but the goal was disallowed for hand ball. Shortly afterwards Cameron Farley tipped a goalbound header over the bar. A short pass to Steve Russell forced him into a rash challenge on the edge of the penalty area that earned him a yellow card.

Despite coming under considerable pressure during the first half, the Newport defence had held firm. The attack had frequently been thwarted by Romsey’s off side trap.

Newport started the second half looking livelier and began to put sustained pressure on the Romsey defence. As the ball bobbled in the penalty area it fell to Jared Wetherick but he fired over from 12 yards.

It was Romsey who took the lead on 59 minutes when Macs Sampays run through the defence and although he was forced wide by Cameron Farley he was able to get in a shot which was blocked on the line by Martin McDonough however Ryan Long reacted quickest to blast the rebound into the net.

As Newport were looking for a quick response, Darren Powell fired in a 20 yard shot but it was straight at Matt Brown.

Romsey continued to attack and Cameron Farley was forced to push a shot from Ryan Long away for a corner. With 20 minutes remaining, Romsey made a defensive change bringing on Ed Barnes-Andrews for Jake Long. On 75 minutes Newport replaced Jared Wetherick with Joe Tigwell.

As Newport continued to attack, a loose ball fell to Dan Vale in front of goal but his shot was deflected over the bar for a corner. Then Joe Tigwell set up Dan Vale for a run down the left but as he cut in he elected to shoot from an acute angle and Matt Brown was able to save.

Newport sacrificed defenders in a double substitution that saw Martin McDonough and Ross Gregory come off to be replaced by Matt Burford and Corbin Ricketts. By now, Newport were encamped in the Romsey half.

With the defence stretched, Romsey had a chance to secure victory when Simon De’ath raced into the penalty area before laying the ball into the path of Ryan Long but his low shot was saved by Cameron Farley.

In the final minute, Newport were reduced to 10 men when Steve Russell received a second yellow card for a tackle.

Romsey made two late substitutions to strengthen the defence when Ben White was replaced by Lloyd Clarke and Gareth Batchelor came on for Simon De’ath. It was the latter who supplied the defence splitting pass from the half way line that allowed Ryan Long to race down the left before cutting in to slot the ball past Cameron Farley for the second goal. Newport had time to mount one last attack before the final whistle.

Newport, particularly in the second half could not be faulted for effort but were unable to prise open a resolute Romsey defence. This defeat leaves Newport fifteenth in the table.

Cameron Farley                             Matt Brown

Martin McDonough (Matt Burford) Richard Hayter

Graham Stay                                 Jake Long (Ed Barnes-Andrews)

Ross Gregory (Corbin Ricketts)    Chris Hall

Harry Ovnik                                   Ross Gregory

Steve Russell                                Jamie Thoroughgood

Darren Powell                               Macs Sampays

Dan Vale                                       Luke Dempsey

Tom McInnes                                Simon De’ath (Gareth Batchelor)

Jared Wetherick (Joe Tigwell)       Ben White (Lloyd Clarke)

Ryan Oatley                                  Ryan Long

Referee: Jonathan Rake               Attendance 97