The Chronicle
Crewe Alex made it back-to-back wins for the first time since August when they beat Newport County 2-1 on Saturday.
Goals from Harry McKirdy and Jordan Bowery completed a victory which has left them 12 points clear of the drop zone at Rodney Parade.
Against physical opposition on a dreadful pitch, it was not a slick passing display but an excellent, mature performance to complete a professional job.
Now Crewe will go into Easter weekend knowing they can make safety a near certainty.
South Wales Argus
NEWPORT County AFC saw their fading play-off hopes well and truly derailed by the Railwaymen as Crewe Alexandra earned a surprise win at Rodney Parade.
The £5 ticket offer attracted a bumper crowd but the 281 away fans were the only ones to go home happy.
Goals in either half from Harry McKirdy and Jordan Bowery put the visitors on course for a vital three points in their battle to beat the drop.
Mickey Demetriou headed in from a corner on 81 minutes to give the Exiles hope but they couldn’t prevent a third home defeat of the season in the league.
Newport County AFC Official Website
Newport County AFC have suffered their first defeat at home this year as Crewe Alexandra boosted their survival hopes with a 2-1 victory at Rodney Parade.
The away side opened the scoring with realistically their first sight at goal, that coming after 26 minutes.
Harry McKirdy did well to come out the better of an aerial challenge with Mickey Demetriou, before calmly dispatching the opportunity into the bottom corner from just inside the six-yard area.
That lead was then doubled right on the hour mark as Jordan Bowery finished off a quick counter-attack by passing the ball into the back of the net after Charlie Kirk had seen his attempt cannon back off the post and into the danger area.
County found a route back into proceedings with just nine minutes remaining, Mickey Demetriou rising highest to head into the middle of the goal from a Robbie Willmott corner kick and halve the deficit.
No equaliser could be found, however, meaning the Exiles slip one place in the League 2 table and down to 12th, while the gap on the play-offs has increased to ten points with eight games left to play.