Newport County P-P Southend United: Rodney Parade game off with frozen pitch

Newport County's home League Two game against Southend United on Saturday has been called off due to a frozen pitch.

After an inspection, referee Paul Howard ruled some areas of the pitch at Rodney Parade were not safe to play on.

Newport said they were "disappointed by the decision but the health and safety of players is of paramount importance".

The club also praised the "best efforts of the groundstaff, who have worked tirelessly and deployed frost covers ahead of the fixture".

Details for the rearranged fixture will be announced in due course.

Newport's previous home game against Exeter City on 29 December was called off due to a waterlogged pitch and this has now been rearranged for 16 February, with a kick-off time of 19:00GMT.

Southend, meanwhile, have confirmed that midfielder Kyle Taylor has tested positive for Covid-19 and would not have been able to play at Newport, had the game gone ahead.