Newport County 3 Gillingham 1: League 2 match report from Rodney Parade

There was no way back for Gillingham on Tuesday night away at Newport County after conceding three goals inside half an hour.

Bobby Kamwa’s fine free-kick finish put Newport ahead early on at Rodney Parade and he struck twice more to complete a hat-trick after 30 minutes. Jimmy-Jay Morgan replied for Gillingham but the home side ensured there was no late drama.

Gillingham had created chances of their own, and Morgan headed a golden opportunity over at 1-0, but they were architects of their own downfall as Newport capitalised on mistakes and ruthlessly finished.

Manager John Coleman had made just one change to his starting eleven from the weekend win over Morecambe, switching strikers as Morgan replaced Oli Hawkins to play alongside Joe Gbode.

The Gills had gone 13 games without a win before a 1-0 weekend victory over Morecambe at Priestfield. That had raised hopes of a bright end to the season but enthusiasm was quickly extinguished at Newport.

Gillingham had lost the two previous games against Newport at their Rodney Parade ground, without scoring in either. This one quickly turned ugly.

The Gills are facing the final two months of the season where the manager will hope to pick up enough results to be considered for the job more permanently in the summer, while the players also have careers to think about, with or without Gillingham. This won’t have helped anyone.

The Gills found themselves a goal down after just nine minutes with a postcard finish from Kamwa.

Peterborough loan forward David Ajiboye was tripped by Andy Smith on the edge of the box, after he had already forced his way past Sam Gale, and Kamwa made the Gills pay with a sweet strike into the top corner.

Ajiboye had already shot wide before that and Kamwa