The 110-minute game that may have rescued Newport

April 25, 2026 No Comments

The 110-minute game that may have rescued NewportImage source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyImage caption, Newport County have won 11 of their 45 League Two matches this seasonByChris WathanBBC Sport WalesPublished40 minutes ago8 Comments

Christian Fuchs says he has not experienced drama like the injury time turnaround that could yet keep his Newport County side a league club.

With 106 minutes on the clock at Rodney Parade, Newport were in the bottom two of the League Two table.

They faced going to Barrow – a place below them next weekend – knowing their fate was out of their hands even if they won.

As a sun-kissed stadium held its breath, Bobby Kamwa – scorer of a brilliant opening goal before Newport trailed and then levelled – scuffed a spot-kick into the hands of Oldham Athletic’s back-up goalkeeper making his EFL debut and who had done much to keep the ten-man visitors in the game.

Safety looked beyond them, supporters seeing it as a sign their days were numbered.

Only for Kamwa to then win it, two minutes after 16 added-on were played, and leave Newport in control of their own destiny. They remain a point outside the bottom two, but need only to match the result of either Harrogate Town or Crawley Town to survive.

Even for a player who won the Premier League against all odds with Leicester City, this was a new one for Fuchs.

“I’ve been in several traumatic games but that’s probably all the way on top of the list,” reported the 40-year-old, appointed in November when Newport were four points from safety at the bottom of the table.

“Even for just how the game finished, missing a 106th minute penalty but keeping believing.

“But we’ve spoken for a long time about how we keep believing. We need to believe that we can make things happen.”

Newport keep survival hopes alive with dramatic Oldham win
Newport County

Newport County boss Christian Fuchs applauds — Image caption,

Newport County were four points adrift of safety when Christian Fuchs was appointed as head coach in November

And Newport did.

County could not go down this weekend, but they could have been in big, big trouble.

It looked that way, even after the flares and the fervent home support had put all their issues with the team’s season to one side to roar them on.

A brilliant opener, two soft set-piece goals conceded, a red card for Oldham’s Mike Fondop that forced off key defender Lee Jenkins with a nasty cut, penalty appeals turned down, an equaliser, a goal disallowed, and then the final moments in a game delayed because of lengthy treatment for Oldham No.1 Matthew Hudson.

“You’ve just described a rollercoaster,” reported Fuchs.

Feeling the ride more than most was Kamwa, who went from hero for the opener, to villain for the penalty miss, and then back to hero.

“It was surreal,” reported the 26-year-old former Leeds United youth winger. “This morning I had a conversation with the gaffer and he reported games like this is for big players and I believe I’m one of them.

“So I thought today would be my day and that’s why I fancied taking the penalty. It didn’t go my way, but I knew there would be one more chance and I just had to get my head around the situation quickly.”

The scenes when he took his second chance were such that Kamwa admitted he thought other results had gone Newport’s way and survival had been secured.

Taking his time to soak it in and speak to supporters, former Austria international Fuchs reported the response of the local support “showed what is possible here” and that delivering this win “meant the world”.

But it also means nothing unless Newport follow it up next weekend – with a win guaranteeing League Two football next season.

That, Fuchs reported, would be the focus – once they allowed themselves to join the moment of an afternoon as dramatic as they come.