Newport County's EFL Trophy campaign began with a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace's under-21 side at Rodney Parade on Tuesday. The League Two side, who sit 14th in the table with 18 points from 14 games, were undone by a late winner from the visitors. Their league record stands at four wins, six draws and four losses, leaving them 13 points behind the leaders, Salford City. In the league, they have scored 20 goals and conceded 17.
Jasper Judd gave the young Eagles a tenth-minute lead, finishing from George King's pass. Newport County responded six minutes after the restart. Shaquille Gwengwe, returning from a three-match suspension, delivered a cross that James Crole headed home for his first goal since returning to the starting line-up. The parity lasted until the 79th minute, when substitute Joseph Gibbard set up David Montjen to score the decisive goal for Crystal Palace U21s.
The hosts created chances, with Dan Sassi hitting the crossbar with a header and Kieron Evans forcing a late save from Palace goalkeeper Harry Lee. The match statistics showed Newport had 20 shots to Palace's 16, but the visitors were more clinical, converting two of their nine efforts on target.
Cameron Evans received a yellow card for Newport County in the first half, while Crystal Palace U21s picked up three bookings. The attendance was recorded as 975.
The result leaves Newport County second in Southern Group E of the EFL Trophy. Their focus now turns to League Two, where their next match is a tough away trip to face fourth-placed Crewe on Saturday 14 November. The Exiles' recent form in the league reads one win, two draws and two losses from their last five outings. This sequence includes a 4-1 win over Chesterfield on Friday 30 October, where Cameron Norman, Thomas Davies, Harrison Biggins and Yahya Bamba all scored, but also a 1-0 loss at Cheltenham on Saturday 24 October and draws with Rotherham and York.
