Newport County’s 0-2 home defeat to fellow relegation strugglers Cheltenham Town saw them fall to the bottom of the Football League.

Meanwhile, Cardiff continued to be much better going forward than backwards, coming from behind at halftime to beat Reading and go top of League One.

Swansea City earnt a creditable point against Southampton on the south coast, while Wrexham’s poor form continued at Stoke.

Let’s get into it all, starting at the Cardiff City Stadium:

Cardiff’s come from behind victory masks defensive woes

Ronan Kpakio inspired Cardiff to an eighth win of the League One season, laying on two assists as the capital club came back from 0-1 down at halftime to beat Reading.

The Royals capitalised on a hesitant first-half display from the hosts and missed several chances before captain Lewis Wing fired them in front, hitting a powerful low drive from 35 yards which Cardiff goalkeeper Nathan Trott might have expected to save.

His counterpart Jack Stevens would have been similarly disappointed to allow Omari Kellyman’s deflected shot to squeeze under his body and bring the Bluebirds level early in the second half.

That sparked Cardiff into life and they took the lead via Yousef Salech’s one-touch finish from Kpakio’s cross.

The game was marked by a series of poor defensive decisions by Gabriel Osho, who was subbed off at halftime for Will Fish.

“I just don’t think he played well,” Barry-Murphy said of his decision to take Osho off against Reading.

“I think Gabriel in his home games so far has made a lot of mistakes that I would never associate with him and he’s not in a great rhythm yet.

“He’d be disappointed. He’s a player who’s played at the highest level, but it doesn’t mean when you play at the highest level, you’re going to come to games in League One and have flawless performances where you don’t make any mistakes.

“We have to support him and really make him feel better in those situations and simplify his game so he’s not taking unnecessary risks.”

Newport bottom of League Two after latest defeat

After back-to-back 0-1 away wins, Newport came crashing down to earth on Saturday, losing 0-2 at home to Cheltenham Town.

The two sides were 23rd and 24th in League Two prior to the match, with Cheltenham leapfrogging Newport thanks to a brace from Luke Young.

Despite Newport controlling the majority share of the possession, the best chances came to the visitors on the counter-attack.

Newport’s best chance would come at the hour mark, when Kai Whitmore danced into the penalty area only to see his shot hit the post, and Bobby Kamwa’s follow-up found the side netting.

With Steve Cotterill’s positive influence on Cheltenham clear to see, one wonders if Newport County’s board may be tempted to pull the trigger on David Hughes.

Swans escape south coast with a point

Swansea’s inauspicious start to the season continued as they were on the end of a 0-0 thrashing from Southampton.

The home side had 21 shots (eight on target) compared to Swansea’s six, with over five times the number of touches in the box.

Swansea’s consistent back four of Josh Tymon, Ben Cabango, Cameron Burgess, and Josh Key were excellent in front of the flawless Lawrence Vigouroux, but the midfield – usually a strength of Alan Sheehan’s side – struggled to impose any control on the contest.

“We haven’t had many games like this. All the draws we’ve had have felt like losses because we’ve been massively in the ascendancy,” Swansea’s head coach said.

“In fairness, I think this is a good point. With the ball we didn’t create anywhere enough. We turned it over in bad areas and we tried to get a breather on the ball instead of hurting them.

“But in terms of a defensive display, going to the very end, I think this is the resilience and type of character you need in this league.

“You need to be able to show that side. We knew it was going to be difficult and we have shown another side to us today.”

Wrexham go four without a win

Phil Parkinson cut a frustrated figure in the touchline at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday, as he watched his side slide to a fourth Championship match without a win.

The three prior games had ended all square, but Wales winger Sorba Thomas’ deflected cross was enough to deliver the victory for the home side.

For Wrexham, their stuttering start has brought pressure on Parkinson, who has not suffered a run like this since being appointed Wrexham manager in 2021.

“We need to just analyse the performance and not get too down about it,” Parkinson said.

“It says something about how far we’ve come that we come to Stoke in front of 25,000 and are disappointed not to get something from the game.

“But we have got to look at ourselves. I think it’s good to be frustrated, I think it’s good to be a bit annoyed and that we don’t have pats on the back and say ‘Oh, we’ve come to Stoke and done okay’.”

---

Sportin Wales’s coverage of Wales’s World Cup qualifying campaign is proudly sponsored by S4C. You can watch all of Wales’s matches this year for free on S4C and S4C Clic.

If you want to read more pieces from Sportin Wales, why not read to our monthly magazine here or subscribe to the magazine and newsletter at https://sportin.wales/subscribe/.

Our podcast is back for the new season and our co-founder Alex Cuthbert is in charge! You can find all the episodes here or the video versions on our YouTube channel.

You can also keep track of our pieces and videos on our socials at @Sportin_Wales on X or Sportin Wales on Instagram and Facebook.