An extremely dull first half followed by a decent into absolute chaos in the second. In the end it’s two points dropped by us thanks to three goalkeeping errors – a horrific afternoon for Bonham – who really needs to be sent back to Brentford in January and replaced by a league standard goalkeeper.

As it was, we didn’t have a single effort on or off target in the first forty-five minutes – Bennett and Lambe worked manfully upfront but were way too isolated and it was too easy for Newport to nullify them. We looked like a team waiting for Newport to score and thanks to a nightmarish moment from Bonham – they did.

It looked to be inexplicable not to use any substitutes at half time – but the decision to push our full-backs further forward changed the game. I’ll talk about Etuhu later, but a single moment of quality from him gave us the lead before more nonsense goalkeeping threw it away – twice over.

In the end I have sympathy with the manager and his tactics – which brought us three away goals. There’s not too much you can do as a manager or as a defence when your goalkeeper plays so poorly. However, at the end of the day you have to say the responsibility for having Bonham at the club is Curle’s – and if you add the points Bonham’s errors have cost us this season onto our total – we’d be comfortably in the playoff positions – at least. One signing in January can make all the difference – and this season – it should be a goalkeeper.

Bonham – 2 – Made a couple of good saves – but cost us three goals. Get him out of the club as quickly as possible or our season will be over very quickly.

Brown – 5 – Looks unsure how to play alongside three centre-backs. Doesn’t know when he should get forward and when he should defend, I’m not sure we have anyone at the club who can teach him this so he’ll have to work it out himself. Looks much more comfortable in a back four, and the irony was he was substituted so we could return to one.

Miller – 7 – Great finish for his goal, had to win a header without committing a foul and direct it into the bottom corner, excellently done. Got forward effectively and defended well.

Hill – 6 – Reasonably solid without being outstanding, caught on his heels a few times but we generally had enough defenders around him to cover for his oldness today.

Liddle – 6 – Struggled a bit against the pace and strength of Newport’s forwards, nothing disastrous however.

Parkes – 5 – Horrible use of the football. No idea why he was taking free-kicks when he should’ve been the one trying to get on the end of crosses. Three central defenders seemed excessive today, and Parkes did not shine…

Joyce – 3 – An extra mark for being Johnny on the spot for his goal, but got under the feet of our defence and gave the ball away on too many occaisons to count. I’ve generally been a fan of his performances this term but today was clart for him.

Jones – 6 – Our best midfielder on the day but not on the ball anywhere near enough. Needs to assert himself on the game more, but in fairness to him – with Joyce playing so badly and Etuhu floating around like a big numb-nuts he was having to try to carry the middle of the park by himself.

Etuhu – 2 – Spent the first half walking around in no-mans land, barely raised his speed to a jog. Made one tackle at the expense of a throw-in and one successful pass. And then, for one fleeting moment, he comes alive in the second half. The ball lands at his feet and he forgets he is Kelvin Etuhu and becomes Romelu Lukaku – powering his way through the defence and slamming an unstoppable shot into the net. It’s an impressive moment, undoubtedly – but his only moment in the entire game. After the goal he disappears back into his curate’s egg and wears Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak for the rest of the game. Is that single moment of excellence enough for him to retain his place in the side? For Curle, it will be – but there’s no way it should be.

Lambe – 6 – Kicked, battered, tripped, pushed, welted, tw_tted – you name it – Newport’s pub team defenders dished it out to him. Credit to Reginald for keeping a level head and using the ball quite well. That there wasn’t enough support around him wasn’t his fault. He’s unable to carry the whole creative burden of the team on his shoulders, but tried very well to.

Bennett – 7* - Impressive performance from Bennett with his back to goal leading the line. A constant thorn in the side for Newport’s defence, winning headers, holding the ball up well - some insightful passing and good movement. That he was too isolated for much of the game wasn’t his fault. Kept his head and showed maturity in the face of some provocation – looks like a footballer now, if he keeps improving at his current rate might turn out to be a great signing. Will look even better when he plays in a front two and has players around him who have the ability to put a ball to his feet while he’s actually facing the goal.

Subs

Hope – 2 – Ran about a bit to little effect
Miller – 2 – Flitted in and out of the game, with no real influence.
O’Sullivan – 2 – Hasn’t done anything of note since returning from injury.