Spytty Park Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013   1st Team Friendly Attendance: 765         Newport County 3-3 Reading
2013 /14

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Newport County AFC Zebroski-2 Minshull 3 - 3 READING XI Attendance: 765 (5 Away) Competition: Friendly tg1.jpg Match/Ball Sponsor and Mascot Match Report Some 765 fans returned to former home Spytty Park to pay tribute to long-serving Tony Gilbert: the loyal former kit-man, physio and groundsman who’d served both the Ironsides and the Exiles for 38 long years. Indeed there have been precious few roles that dedicated Tony hasn’t undertaken for Newport County over the decades, having even been caretaker-manager at one point. It’s only been a year since County vacated their former home for the city-centre intimacy of Rodney Parade, but it feels much longer: hence this well deserved testimonial match for Tony being a veritable trip down memory lane for several reasons. Hampered by a clutch of unwelcome pre-season niggles and injuries, Justin Edinburgh gave a debut to a new trialist in right-back Ryan Jackson, who impressed: however it was striker Chris Zebroski who stole the show with two excellent goals, his first for the club. The first after just seven minutes was a routine tap-in after Willmott’s cross had been parried. His second just short of the half hour was a terrific individual effort, Zebroski skipping majestically past his marker before firing superbly into the bottom corner of the net. In between the two strikes, the youthful Reading XI had equalised through Gozie Ugwu: not that he knew an awful lot about it. The forward deflecting the ball in following a good save from Jamie Stephens. Seven minutes after the break this entertaining encounter was all square once more: Lawson D’ath the scorer this time following neat approach play from Ugwu. Only a meddlesome upright denied Zebroski a hat-trick, whilst Reading looked to have won it on 87 minutes when Stephens was adjudged to have felled Kelly: Shepherd Murumbedzi rattling home the subsequent spot-kick. However, on a night in which County bid farewell to a backroom legend, it was fitting that the hosts had the final word: substitute Lee Minshull nodding in an injury-time equaliser. County: Stephens, Jackson, Hughes, Flynn, Worley, Yakubu, Willmott, Chapman, Zebroski, Washington, Doble. Subs: Pipe, James, Porter, Minshull, Crow, Anthony, Sandell, Jolley.