1986–87 Newport County A.F.C. season


The 1986–87 season was Newport County's seventh consecutive season in the Third Division, their 40th in the third tier and 59th overall in the Football League. They finished the season in 24th place and were relegated to the Fourth Division for the 1987–88 season.
Caretaker manager John Relish surprisingly wasn't chosen to continue as manager despite saving the club from relegation the previous year, and Jimmy Mullen was instead brought in as player-manager. The club started the season okay, albeit somewhat inconsistently, and occupied mid-table until the start of November. Things went horribly wrong after that however, and the club ensured a second successive season spending three months without a win. A 1–0 win over Doncaster on Valentine's Day saw a temporary improvement in form, but a 5–2 thumping at the hands of Notts County cost Mullen his job, with John Lewis stepping up to the manager's job for the rest of the season. The club picked up enough points here and there to maintain an outside chance of survival until the final weeks of the season, but a dismal return of just one point from the last six games saw them finish rock-bottom.

Season review

Results summary

Results by round

Fixtures and results

Third Division

DateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendance
23 Aug 1986GillinghamH1–2Lewis2,533
30 Aug 1986BournemouthA1–2Carter2,799
6 Sep 1986Swindon TownH2–2Berry, Mardenborough3,796
13 Sep 1986Wigan AthleticA2–1Lewis, Berry2,004
16 Sep 1986DarlingtonA3–1Staniforth, Carter, Berry1,805
20 Sep 1986Doncaster RoversH3–2Carter, Lewis, Vinter2,382
27 Sep 1986BuryA3–4Mardenborough, Carter, Vinter2,136
4 Oct 1986BrentfordA0–23,231
11 Oct 1986Chester CityH2–2Carter, Gibbins2,119
25 Oct 1986ChesterfieldA2–3Carter, Vinter1,895
28 Oct 1986Carlisle UnitedH1–1Gibbins1,540
1 Nov 1986Notts CountyH1–1Mardenborough1,960
4 Nov 1986York CityH1–1Vinter2,079
8 Nov 1986Bolton WanderersA1–0Millett4,530
22 Nov 1986MiddlesbroughH0–12,788
25 Nov 1986Mansfield TownA0–12,319
29 Nov 1986BlackpoolA1–1Mardenborough3,281
2 Dec 1986Bristol CityH0–13,205
14 Dec 1986Bristol RoversA2–2Gibbins 22,660
20 Dec 1986Rotherham UnitedH1–2OG1,760
26 Dec 1986WalsallA0–26,855
27 Dec 1986Port ValeH0–22,103
1 Jan 1987FulhamH0–02,388
3 Jan 1987MiddlesbroughA0–29,585
25 Jan 1987Swindon TownA0–36,620
14 Feb 1987Doncaster RoversA1–0Gibbins1,837
17 Feb 1987GillinghamA1–1Gibbins3,542
21 Feb 1987BuryH2–2Gibbins 21,914
24 Feb 1987BournemouthH0–12,143
28 Feb 1987Carlisle UnitedA2–2Gilligan, Vinter2,192
3 Mar 1987Notts CountyA2–5Staniforth, Vinter3,814
8 Mar 1987ChesterfieldH1–0Carter1,567
14 Mar 1987Bristol CityA0–49,137
17 Mar 1987Mansfield TownH0–31,383
21 Mar 1987Chester CityA0–22,561
31 Mar 1987Wigan AthleticH1–2Balley1,428
4 Apr 1987Bolton WanderersH2–1Taylor, Thackeray1,193
7 Apr 1987BrentfordH2–2Giles, Staniforth1,596
11 Apr 1987York CityA0–32,202
14 Apr 1987DarlingtonH3–0Lewis, Thackeray, Taylor1,315
18 Apr 1987FulhamA0–24,234
20 Apr 1987WalsallH2–4Taylor, Thackeray2,003
25 Apr 1987Rotherham UnitedA1–3Compton2,555
2 May 1987BlackpoolH1–1Staniforth1,247
4 May 1987Port ValeA1–6Compton2,733
9 May 1987Bristol RoversH0–13,165

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendance
115 Nov 1986Bromsgrove RoversA1–0Vinter3,440
26 Dec 1986FulhamA0–24,052

Football League Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendanceAggregate
1–127 Aug 1986Exeter CityA0–01,545
1–22 Sep 1986Exeter CityH1–0Gibbins1,6201–0
2–124 Sep 1986EvertonA0–411,959
2–27 Oct 1986EvertonH1–5Carter7,1721–9

Welsh Cup

League table