WHAT WE LEARNED: Newport County (2) Swindon (1)

Ten-man Swindon fell to a 2-1 defeat on the road against Newport County as the Jody Morris-era began with a loss. Total Sport’s Joe Acklam looks at what lessons can be learned from the match.

Unfortunately for the first edition of a new format, a red card after 15 minutes means that we only got to see a small piece of what Morris wants from his team, and thus there was less to be drawn from the match than would otherwise be the case, but we will try anyway.

Here are the lessons that can be taken from Swindon’s 2-1 loss in South Wales.

1. Jake Cain and Dylan Kadji both appear to be great signings.

Suspension to Saidou Khan and injury to Marcel Lavinier meant that two of Swindon’s January signings formed a midfield double pivot and both acquitted themselves very well. Losing Louis Reed and Ben Gladwin was a blow as Swindon did not have another midfielder of their technical level, but Cain fills that void very well. He moved the ball quickly and when he was able to turn proved very difficult to stop. Kadji showed signs of his inexperience with a few rash tackles and poor decisions, but he also showcased his very useful range of attributes. He looked up for the fight and was more than capable of passing and dribbling out of trouble. A good day for the duo in trying circumstances.

2. Teams who can stop Remeao Hutton can stop Swindon.

When it was 11 versus 11, Hutton was able to make a few dangerous dribbles and cause Newport problems as he had space to work in. Then after the red card, Newport were able to funnel Swindon down the left as much as possible using their man advantage. When the ball did get towards Hutton, he was double teamed and largely nullified. This is a game plan Swindon have seen before against Crawley Town and Town had no shots on target that day. Hutton is not Swindon’s only outlet, but when teams can take away that option then Town start to look very blunt, as they did for large parts of the game at Rodney Parade.

3. Tomi Adeloye may not be finished at Swindon.

It has been a tough six months for Adeloye at Swindon, and many have seen him as a candidate to be moved on and his signing has generally been viewed as a failure. However, having been brought on in the 90th minute, he found himself on the scoresheet during stoppage time and set up a remarkably competitive final few minutes. His finish was very well taken and he generally looked lively during his cameo, making good runs in the middle, and displaying the penalty box movement that saw him hit double figures at relegation threatened Ayr United last season. With Charlie Austin in the squad, the likelihood of him finding a starting birth is very remote, but he did show that he can have an impact from the bench. Perhaps we shouldn’t write him off just yet.

4. Morris was not lying about turning Swindon into a pressing team.

This one is taken exclusively from the first 15 minutes as the game plan turned on its head afterwards. But in the opening exchanges Town were swarming the ball and won it back within a matter of seconds on multiple occasions. This was more of a second level press as Swindon were not closing down the Newport centre-backs with the same kind of urgency, that might have been based on the opposition, but when the ball came into midfield, the Exiles were not allowed any time. Hopefully an early red card will not distort the Doncaster Rovers game in the same way and we will be able to see more of this.

5. Jacob Wakeling could benefit greatly from Morris’ system.

Another 15-minute observation, but there were positive signs for the 21-year-old. The fluidity of the forward line saw Wakeling making runs in behind which saw him end up on both touchlines and down the middle. He seemed to be being used primarily to stretch the back line and provide a threat in behind and Newport didn’t seem to know who should be tracking him. We will have to wait and see if this produces a return to form in front of goal when Wakeling is allowed to do this for more than a quarter of an hour, but this is a role that should suit him.