By Nathan Jackson
June 14 2011

Lincoln City will face yet another side for the first time next season when the Imps face Newport County. The Exiles formed in 1989 and have spent the majority of their history in the lower leagues before last season's debut season in the top tier of non-league football.

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The Imps and Newport County AFC have never met, nor have we shared many players. The Exiles currently have ex-Imp Steven Lennon on their books, but other than that connections between the two clubs are few and far between.

Newport County have had a complicated 22 year history since being formed in 1989. They weren't originally allowed to play in the town of Newport, instead being forced to play their first season in the town of Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire, which is where the nickname of "Exiles" comes from. Despite being forced to play in a different country for their home games, Newport marked the season by winning the League and Cup.

They were almost pulled out of English football by the Football Association of Wales in the mid-90s but after they won a battle in court, they were finally allowed to settle in Newport permanently, making the Newport Stadium their home. Initially holding just over 4,000, new temporary stands in recent years have taken the capacity to over the 5,000 mark. It is one of only two stadiums in the division with a running track around it.

The Midland Division was won by 14 points in the following season, that season including a club record of 14 straight wins. They spent several years at that level before becoming founder members of the Conference South. Their time at that level proved reasonable, missing out on the Playoffs on the final day two years running before Dean Holdsworth took them to the title in 2009/10. They won promotion in March of that season, making them the first team to be promoted and only three games ended in defeat. It would be a season that would see them crowned as BBC Wales Sports Team of the Year.

Taking the Conference by surprise, they only lost twice in the opening sixteen games, including winning 3-2 at eventual Champions Crawley. They were also undefeated against the four teams that eventually finished in the Playoffs in that run and the only two teams that beat them were relegated pair Darlington and Grimsby.

Despite the excellent start, results turned a bit sour and when Dean Holdsworth left for Aldershot halfway through the season, their promotion chase completely fell apart, not winning for thirteen games at one point. By the time they started an impressive end of season run, the Playoffs were already out of sight, but six wins in the last eight games will give them hope for the new season, especially the 5-0 win over Barrow and the 7-1 win at Gateshead on the final day.

Getting to know the Blue Square Premier : Newport County

Discussion started by theimps.ka (IP Logged), 14/06/2011 09:40

theimps.ka
14/06/2011 09:40

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