It might be the International Break but Leagues One and Two go on. Going into the weekend, Newport County, Tranmere Rovers and Bromley had the three longest winless runs in the EFL.
At the weekend, two of these streaks came to an end.
Newport County Winless Run Ends
Newport County had the worst winless run in the EFL going into the weekend, with nine league games without a win. In fairness, they began the season pretty well, drawing against Notts County at Rodney Parade and beating Crawley 2-1 away from home.
However, since then, County’s form has been abysmal. Aside from a draw against Tranmere, they had lost ten league games in a row going into their fixture against relegation rivals Accrington Stanley last weekend.
But before that game, they had an EFL Cup fixture to play, away from home against Cardiff City, one of the best teams in League One. A fixture which somehow, they managed to win.
Then the weekend rolled around, and they managed to win again, beating Stanley 1-0 at the Wham Stadium to secure their first league win since the 9th of August. Manager David Hughes was only appointed in May so it will be interesting to see how much longer he is given if they are unable to capitalise on these vital wins.
As a club, Newport have been on the decline for a number of years. In the 2020/21 season, they finished fifth in League Two but have finished every season since then lower than the season before, culminating in a 22nd place finish last campaign.
However, they are definitely not dead and buried by any means. We are only twelve games into season and whilst they are in the relegation zone, they are only one point from safety.
Furthermore, unlike the Championship and League One, there are of course only two relegation places in the fourth tier, which will work in their favour. But someone does have to go down and if they are not careful, they could find themselves playing non-league football next season.
Tranmere Rovers
Similarly to Newport, Tranmere have been on the decline for several seasons now. Following their relegation from League One at the end of the 2019/20 season, Tranmere have finished each season since with a league position worse than the one they achieved the previous season.
However, they haven’t started the season as poorly as Newport have, taking eleven points from their first ten games. On Saturday they played their eleventh game of the season, at home against Barnet, looking to bring their run of six games without a win to an end.
Things got off to a poor start when Lindokuhle Ndlovu gave the visitors the lead after 26 minutes. Adam Senior would double the lead in the 40th minute, leaving the hosts 2-0 down at half time.
That would also be the full-time result as Tranmere became the club in the EFL with the longest winless run, now seven games. Whilst Rovers’ start to the season has been poor, they are in a much better position than the teams below them.
They currently sit 19th in the table, two points above 20th place Accrington Stanley and three points above the relegation zone, with a game in hand on the bottom four. Furthermore, their goal difference is -1, which is far better than everyone below them and is even better than the two teams above them.
Scoring goals is definitely not their problem as they sit joint 7th in the league for goals scored. If they want to get out of the relegation battle that they find themselves in, they need to turn draws into wins.
They have drawn the joint second most games in the league so far with five. All but two of their home games, including both of the cup games that they’ve played, have been draws.
Bromley
Speaking of draws, Bromley are one of only two teams in League Two who have played out more draws than Tranmere this season (6). The Ravens found themselves five league games without a win heading into the weekend where they faced a Crewe Alexandra side who had won their last two games.
But that didn’t matter as last season’s Golden Boot winner Michael Cheek’s strike in the 52nd minute would be enough to give Bromley the win. This moved them up to 10th in the table, two points off of the playoffs and eight behind league leaders Walsall.
If they are able to convert some of their draws into wins, there is no reason as to why Bromley can’t compete for a promotion place this season. Especially if their forwards continue their good form.
Michael Cheek’s goal against Crewe was his sixth of the season, whilst Nicke Kabamba has scored five times.
