Newport County manager Justin Edinburgh got off to a losing start at Spytty Park with defeat by Southport.

The visitors took the lead when Simon Grand headed home from close range after Newport defender Paul Rodgers hooked off his own line.

Southport doubled their lead when Karl Ledsham headed in Tony Gray's pinpoint cross past Glyn Thompson.

Gray tapped in the third from Andy Owens' centre as Southport made it three wins in a row.

VIEWS FROM THE DRESSING ROOM

Newport County manager Justin Edinburgh told BBC Radio Wales:

"I think we possibly couldn't have got off to a worse start, certainly in the first half.

"We're quite aware of the job ahead now, certainly the players are.

"We've got to understand that it's not going to be pretty at times but we've got to roll up our sleeves now because we're certainly in a dog-fight.

"If I can take some positives out of the second half, a clean sheet and at least we gave it a go and didn't lay down and die, but there's certainly a lot of hard work ahead of us, that's for sure."

Lineup, Bookings (3) & Substitutions (6)

Newport County

  • 18 Thompson
  • 03 Baker (Hughes - 54' )
  • 05 Warren
  • 17 Hatswell
  • 25 Rodgers
  • 04 Miller Booked (Foley - 58' Booked )
  • 07 Rose
  • 14 Doherty
  • 09 McAllister
  • 15 Jarvis
  • 26 Buchanan (Knights - 62' )

Substitutes

  • 39 Swan
  • 16 Hughes
  • 12 Gilligan
  • 10 Foley
  • 11 Knights

Southport

  • 01 McMillan
  • 02 Lee Booked
  • 04 Akrigg
  • 06 Grand
  • 14 Smith
  • 15 Owens
  • 07 Whalley (Brown - 69' )
  • 17 Ledsham
  • 19 Poku
  • 10 Gray (Walker - 75' )
  • 18 Mukendi (Carden - 82' )

Substitutes

  • 13 Nemes
  • 08 Moogan
  • 23 Carden
  • 12 Brown
  • 24 Walker
Ref: Amey
Att: 1,576

Match Stats

Shots

10 6

On target

6 4

Corners

6 3

Fouls

16 14

Live Text Commentary

90:00 +4:12 Full time

Full Time The referee signals the end of the game.

90:00 +2:57

Unfair challenge on Darryl Knights by Andy Owens results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Danny Rose.

90:00 +0:41

Short corner taken by Karl Ledsham from the right by-line. The referee blows for offside against Karl Ledsham. Free kick taken by Sam Foley. Dan Walker fouled by Sam Foley, the ref awards a free kick. Free kick taken by Karl Ledsham.

88:27

Unfair challenge on Simon Grand by Paul Rodgers results in a free kick. Tony McMillan takes the free kick.

87:35

Handball by Craig McAllister. Indirect free kick taken by Tony McMillan.

82:44

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Dan Walker by Wayne Hatswell. Andy Owens takes the free kick.

81:56 Substitution

Substitution (Southport) makes a substitution, with Adam Carden coming on for Vinny Mukendi.

80:57

Danny Rose takes a shot. Save by Tony McMillan.

78:55

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Godfrey Poku by Tommy Doherty. Indirect free kick taken by Tony McMillan. Foul by Gary Warren on Andy Owens, free kick awarded. Tony McMillan takes the indirect free kick.

77:45

Free kick taken by Tony McMillan.

77:45 Booking

Booking The referee shows Sam Foley a yellow card.

77:42

Foul by Sam Foley on Vinny Mukendi, free kick awarded.

74:56 Substitution

Substitution Tony Gray goes off and Dan Walker comes on.

73:27

A cross is delivered by Danny Rose, Wayne Hatswell takes a shot. Corner crossed in by Danny Rose, save made by Tony McMillan. Blocked by Steve Akrigg.

72:55

Nathaniel Jarvis takes a shot. Save by Tony McMillan.

70:20

Shot on goal comes in from Danny Rose from the free kick, blocked by James Smith. Darryl Knights takes a shot. James Smith gets a block in.

70:20 Booking

Booking The referee books Kevin Lee for unsporting behaviour.

70:02

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Tommy Doherty by Kevin Lee.

68:10 Substitution

Substitution Jonathan Brown joins the action as a substitute, replacing Shaun Whalley.

68:10

Steve Akrigg fouled by Sam Foley, the ref awards a free kick. Indirect free kick taken by Tony McMillan.

65:19

Unfair challenge on Danny Rose by Kevin Lee results in a free kick. Free kick crossed by Tommy Doherty, Kevin Lee manages to make a clearance.

64:10

Outswinging corner taken by Danny Rose from the right by-line, clearance made by Shaun Whalley.

61:36 Substitution

Substitution Darryl Knights replaces Elliott Buchanan.

57:03 Substitution

Substitution Sam Foley joins the action as a substitute, replacing Tom Miller.

55:41

Effort on goal by Tom Miller from inside the box misses to the right of the target.

53:38

Unfair challenge on Danny Rose by Kevin Lee results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Danny Rose.

53:38 Substitution

Substitution Andrew Hughes replaces Lee Baker.

53:38

Unfair challenge on Shaun Whalley by Danny Rose results in a free kick. Andy Owens takes the free kick.

52:34

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Lee Baker by Vinny Mukendi. Free kick taken by Danny Rose.

51:08

Vinny Mukendi takes a shot. Save by Glyn Thompson.

48:25

Corner taken by Danny Rose, clearance made by Steve Akrigg.

45:51

Shot from just outside the penalty box by Lee Baker misses to the left of the target.

45:01

The second half begins.

45:00 +2:03 Half time

Half Time The ref blows to end the first period.

43:56

The assist for the goal came from Andy Owens.

43:56 Goal scored

Goal - Tony Gray - Newport Co 0 - 3 Southport Tony Gray finds the back of the net with a goal from close range to the bottom right corner of the goal. Newport County 0-3 Southport.

42:48

Tony Gray produces a right-footed shot from the edge of the box and misses to the left of the goal.

41:07

Inswinging corner taken by Karl Ledsham, Lee Baker manages to make a clearance.

39:41

Assist by Tony Gray.

39:41 Goal scored

Goal - Karl Ledsham - Newport Co 0 - 2 Southport Karl Ledsham grabs a headed goal from inside the six-yard box. Newport County 0-2 Southport.

38:47

Free kick awarded for a foul by Tony Gray on Gary Warren. Free kick taken by Glyn Thompson.

38:14

Lee Baker takes a shot. Steve Akrigg gets a block in.

37:38

Corner taken by Danny Rose, clearance made by Kevin Lee.

35:13

Free kick awarded for a foul by Wayne Hatswell on Tony Gray. Free kick crossed by Karl Ledsham, clearance by Craig McAllister.

33:20

Lee Baker challenges Kevin Lee unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick taken by Tony McMillan.

32:19

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Andy Owens by Paul Rodgers. Tony McMillan takes the free kick.

31:00

Nathaniel Jarvis is penalised for handball and concedes a free kick. Tony McMillan takes the free kick.

29:39 Goal scored

Goal - Simon Grand - Newport Co 0 - 1 Southport Simon Grand finds the net with a headed goal from close range. Newport County 0-1 Southport.

28:18

Glyn Thompson fouled by Tony Gray, the ref awards a free kick. Indirect free kick taken by Glyn Thompson.

27:16

Craig McAllister is caught offside. Tony McMillan takes the indirect free kick.

22:11

Free kick crossed right-footed by Shaun Whalley, Gary Warren makes a clearance. Inswinging corner taken by Karl Ledsham, Wayne Hatswell makes a clearance.

22:11 Booking

Booking Tom Miller is cautioned by the ref for unsporting behaviour.

21:56

Tom Miller concedes a free kick for a foul on Godfrey Poku.

20:48

Nathaniel Jarvis challenges Andy Owens unfairly and gives away a free kick. Tony McMillan restarts play with the free kick.

19:05

Free kick awarded for a foul by Paul Rodgers on Karl Ledsham. Indirect free kick taken by Tony McMillan.

18:52

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Danny Rose by Shaun Whalley. Free kick taken by Gary Warren.

17:42

Godfrey Poku challenges Tom Miller unfairly and gives away a free kick. Glyn Thompson restarts play with the free kick.

14:51

Free kick awarded for a foul by Vinny Mukendi on Paul Rodgers. Glyn Thompson restarts play with the free kick.

10:16

Nathaniel Jarvis gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Andy Owens. Tony McMillan restarts play with the free kick.

8:35

Foul by Vinny Mukendi on Lee Baker, free kick awarded. Glyn Thompson takes the indirect free kick.

6:49

Free kick awarded for a foul by Vinny Mukendi on Lee Baker. Lee Baker restarts play with the free kick.

5:18

Free kick awarded for a foul by Tommy Doherty on Tony Gray. The free kick is swung in right-footed by Shaun Whalley, clearance made by Tommy Doherty. James Smith produces a right-footed shot from the edge of the box and misses to the right of the goal.

4:37

Effort on goal by Tom Miller from just inside the penalty area goes harmlessly over the target.

3:54

The assistant referee flags for offside against Tony Gray. Glyn Thompson takes the direct free kick.

3:34

Kevin Lee concedes a free kick for a foul on Nathaniel Jarvis. Gary Warren takes the direct free kick.

1:32

Shaun Whalley concedes a free kick for a foul on Lee Baker. Indirect free kick taken by Wayne Hatswell.

1:32

Shaun Whalley concedes a free kick for a foul on Lee Baker. Wayne Hatswell takes the free kick.

0:19

Nathaniel Jarvis takes a shot. Tony McMillan makes a save. Danny Rose takes the outswinging corner, Steve Akrigg makes a clearance.

0:00

The match gets underway.

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