Newport County’s pre-season came to a close with a spirited but ultimately one-sided 4-1 loss to Serie A heavyweights AS Roma, in front of a sold-out and suitably fancy-dressed Rodney Parade.

Roma, keen to put last weekend’s shock 4-1 loss to Cardiff City behind them, made home advantage count as goals from Mario Hermoso, Thomas Castro, Konstantinos Koulierakis and Matias Soulé saw them cruise to victory over the Exiles.

County were only a goal down at half-time and gave the home fans something to shout about deep into the second half, when new arrival Kyle Cameron nodded in from a Harrison Biggins free-kick with five minutes to go.

It was an entertaining watch for the Rodney Parade faithful, many of whom turned up dressed as gladiators and Roman legionnaires to mark the occasion.

The hosts also debuted a specially designed cream-and-red kit, said by the club to nod to both Rome’s colours and Newport’s own Roman heritage at nearby Caerleon.

For Hayden Mullins, it was a first taste of defeat as County boss after a winning start to his reign – a 2-1 friendly victory at Yeovil on 1 August.

Mullins fielded a strong side just days out from the start of the competitive season, handing starts to six summer recruits alongside an unnamed trialist at left-back.

County began well and had two decent sniffs early on – Biggins saw a lobbed effort tipped over, while Christian Doidge was denied by Roma keeper Mile Svilar from close range. But the Italian side’s quality eventually told.

Hermoso opened the scoring after Roma cut through the Exiles’ back line, before Castro added a second penalty in the second half following a foul on Hermoso in the box.

Koulierakis then headed in from a Paulo Dybala cross, and Soulé rounded things off with a tidy finish from the edge of the area.

Cameron’s late header gave the home support a moment to celebrate before the final whistle.

Attention now turns to the serious business of the season, starting with a Carabao Cup first-round trip to AFC Wimbledon on Saturday 8 August.

Mullins’ side then open their League Two campaign at home to Rochdale a week later.

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