Fleetwood Town struck twice just before half-time as Newport County's winless run at Rodney Parade continued with a 2-0 defeat. With both sides having kept just two clean sheets in the league all season, the match promised goals, and it was the visitors who took control in a decisive late spell of the first half.
Finley Potter broke the deadlock with a header before Ryan Graydon added a second in stoppage time. Newport's task was made harder after the interval when Michael Spellman was shown a second yellow card, and the result lifts Fleetwood up to 11th in League Two while Newport remain rooted to the bottom.
An Even Contest Searching for a Breakthrough
The opening 25 minutes saw a back-and-forth contest, with both sides pushing to make the breakthrough. Spellman came closest for Newport after cutting inside and rattling the crossbar from around 20 yards out, the winger thundering his effort against the woodwork after 20 minutes.