Having originally met for the first time in our Conference winning 2010-11 season, Crawley have now met Saturday's visitors Newport County ten times in all competitions and our record is exactly five wins each with no draws.
The first meeting was two months into our title-winning campaign, and Newport were one of just three sides to defeat us that season as they recorded a 3-2 win at the Broadfield Stadium.
Danny Rose gave County the lead in the first half, but Richard Brodie and Scott Neilson quickly turned things around and Reds led 2-1. Craig Reid leveled before the break to set up an exhilarating second period. Darryl Knights scored a couple of minutes after the half-time break and that was enough for the Exiles to inflict what was our last League defeat of a record-breaking season.
Just a week later the Reds travelled to South Wales in the FA Cup, at the start of the run which eventually led to us Old Trafford. Craig McAllister’s goal 13 minutes from the end at Spytty Park sent the Reds through to the second round. It also ended a miraculous home run that had seen Newport unbeaten for 18 months.
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The return league fixture at the same ground also ended with a 1-0 win for Crawley on Easter Monday, with the Conference title already wrapped up. This time it was Dean Howell who scored the winner with a superb long-range strike.
Our first meeting as a Football League club came in the old Johnstone’s Paints Trophy, and despite an incredible goal from the halfway line by Mike Jones (pictured above) after Emile Sinclair had put us in front County came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2, their victory sealed by defender Connor Essam’s own goal.
Our first trip to Newport’s new home, Rodney Parade, saw the Reds seal a superb win on a Tuesday night in September 2015. Welshman Gwion Edwards had the game of his life in familiar surroundings as he bagged two goals (pictured below) and assisted Matt Harrold for a third as Town demolished the home side 3-0.
The return fixture was another successful one for the Reds, as Shamir Fenelon added to Scott Boden’s own goal to help us to a 2-0 victory in a game which also saw Medy Elito sent off late on for the visitors.
Our 3-1 win over the Exiles in December 2016 signalled the end of our good run against the Welsh side. James Collins scored after just three minutes at the Broadfield before Josh Labadie equalised half an hour later. The teams went into the break level, but the Reds put on a show in the second half with Josh Yorwerth and Jimmy Smith (pictured below) scoring. That is the last time we have taken points off Newport, with the Welsh side winning the last three encounters.
Micky Demetriou has been a thorn in our side in those encounters, scoring the winner in all of them.
His 18th-minute strike sealed a 1-0 win on a near-waterlogged pitch in April 2017 in a game that saw Labadie and Yorwerth both dismissed after an on the field tussle.
Demetriou scored twice to cancel out Mark Connolly’s first-half header as Newport picked up a 2-1 win at the Broadfield last season.
And first-half goals from Demetriou and Padraig Amond were enough for the Welsh to win the last encounter between the two sides 2-1, despite Jimmy Smith’s goal just after the break, back in January.
