With Newport being a short train journey over the border away, Luke and I were surprised to find out that neither of us had ever visited Rodney Parade. The perfect time to do so came up as the second round of the Crabao Cup was made and Newport had drawn West Ham at home.

This was particularly good for Luke as there were genuine feelings against West Ham and for Newport before and during the game so if Newport could do the unthinkable, then it would be a well worth journey for more than one reason.

It wasn’t meant to be as goals from Jack Wilshere and Pablo Fornals condemned Newport to a round two exit to Premier League opposition. So how was our experience?

Atmosphere:

The atmosphere was actually better before the game than during the game. Before kick-off it was looking likely to be a loud encounter with a brilliant atmosphere but that wasn’t really the case. There were some funny chants throughout the night which made me laugh, which included calling West Ham defender Angelo Ogbonna a “BALD C*NT” which lead to team mate Declan Rice, shining his head.

The occasional chants of “sheep-shagging b*stards we know what we are” also brought a confused smile to my face but the chant of “AMBER ARMY’ brought some atmosphere. The West Ham fans also tried weighing in throughout the game but couldn’t quite create the kind of atmosphere I was expecting.

The atmosphere I will rate 2.5/5

Cost:

The travel to the ground cost us just £8 on the train as the station was just two stops away so for the transport part of the cost we were pretty content. The match ticket itself however was £14 pound which I believe to be a tad steep. It is a good price to watch Premier League opposition but this is their going rate for League Two.

For the cost I will rate Newport 2.5/5

Entertainment:

It wasn’t a bad game to watch from a Newport perspective despite the scoreline. They should have been ahead at half time, and I think even West Ham fans would agree with me there. Padraig Amond missed a sitter and Issa Diop could easily have put through is own net.

What did ruin my entertainment of the game was one fan that was behind us in the Hazel Terrace. To be fair to this guy he tried creating an atmosphere, he just went completely the wrong way about it. A fellow Newport fan, finally snapped late in the second half which sparked an entertaining argument which fizzled out at the final whistle.

For entertainment I will rate it 3/5

Facilities:

We managed to take in most of the facilities at Rodney Parade just looking for the ticket office. The ticket office ended up being a couple hundred yards away from the ground which was slightly annoying but it was easy to locate everything after.

Newport is a different stadium and is certainly one I will remember as the terraces and seating arrangements are unique. The main stand seems to be a very cozy area for the passionate fans to voice their chants and I quite like it.

Facilites I will rate 3/5.

Food:

After all the kerfuffle of getting into the stadium all I wanted was some food so I grabbed a hot dog and a bottle of water. I wasn’t in the greatest of moods before ordering the food as I had just spent half an hour trying to get into the ground, but the food didn’t improve my mood at all.

The hot dog for me was quite frankly vile. I did break off a bit for Luke who didn’t think it was too bad but I couldn’t finish even half of it, which if you know me well, is very much unlike me. Peculiarly the bottle of water which was given to me had no lid which I felt was weird but I guessed had something to do with the environment in some way or another.

I did have a packet of Pombears to clear my hunger which was bought from outside the ground in order to use the facilities of the shop, if you know what I mean.

For food I will rate Newport 1/5

Man of the Match:

Given the scoreline you’d think I would opt for a West Ham player but as I said, Newport put up more than a good fight. A player I was impressed with was their left back Ryan Haynes. He had the likes of Felipe Anderson and Robert Snodgrass to keep quiet and he succeeded for the vast majority of the game.

So what does this mean?

These ratings put Newport firmly to the bottom of the leaderboard. After I got back from the match I firmly believed that this could be the case and it has been proven. It wasn’t a bad game to watch but my time there certainly could have been a lot better.

As Matchday three rolled around, we took our first bite of League Two action this season as me and Harry travelled down to the Jonny-Rocks Stadium to watch Cheltenham Town entertain Carlisle United.

This was a first visit to Cheltenham for me and Harry, and our first experience of the Jonny-Rocks stadium was a positive one as goals from Gavin Reilly and Luke Varney secured a comfortable home win for the Robins.

So… let’s rate our time.

Atmosphere:

The atmosphere was poor for the majority of the game, with a capacity crowd of over 2,600 it was only a handful of maybe 60-70 Cheltenham supporters who let their voices be heard, singing for the entirety of the game. Whilst I admire the passion and effort to generate an atmosphere, the select few who were making noise were let down by the majority of the crowd in attendance.

I am going to give Cheltenham a 1.5/5 for atmosphere.

Cost:

This week non-league teams such as Boreham Wood and Dagenham & Redbridge have come under scrutiny for mouthwatering ticket prices, but Cheltenham have done a great job with ticket prices.

£9 for Under 18 entry is sensibly priced and is a good example to lower league clubs of how to price tickets.

For cost I’m going to give Cheltenham a 4/5.

Entertainment:

When we planned our ground-hopping journey, it’s fair to say Cheltenham vs Carlisle on a Tuesday night was not one of the most glamorous ties we’d anticipated, however this was good entertainment.

Carlisle came out the blocks early and came close to opening the scoring before Cheltenham ultimately did, with the first half becoming an end to end game for the opening half hour.

Entertainment scored well for me but did die down as the game went on, so I’m going to give entertainment a 3/5.

Facilities:

For a League Two stadium, the Jonny Rocks stadium was very impressive (relative to the division). A seated stadium with a clean design as well offering a standing terrace behind the goal which is very close to the pitch.

Cheltenham’s stadium is an impressive ground and is perhaps higher standard than League Two.

It offers that special lower league feeling whilst also teasing fans into a glimpse of the future.

For facilities, I am going to give Cheltenham a 3/5.

Food:

It isn’t often that you have the luxury of a warm bacon and sausage roll in a toasted baguette, and sensibly priced at £3.50. For me Cheltenham get a 4.5/5

This brings the overall score up to 16/25.

Next up for us is a trip to Rodney Parade for Newport County vs West Ham in the league cup.