Cardiff City Stadium to host two Newport County games

Newport County players trained at Cardiff City Stadium ahead of the League Two play-off final in 2019

Newport County have been given the go ahead to switch their next two home League Two games to Cardiff City Stadium.

County were keen to move games away from their Rodney Parade ground because of the condition of the pitch.

The move was approved by the board of the English Football League on Thursday.

Games against Bradford City on Tuesday, 9 March and Leyton Orient on Saturday, 20 March will be held at Cardiff City.

"We are very grateful to colleagues at the EFL for their support and understanding in these unprecedented times," County chairman Gavin Foxall said.

"My thanks and appreciation to Ken Choo and all the staff at Cardiff City for accommodating. It is a good example of how the football community comes together in challenging circumstances."

County said the switch to Cardiff would give the Rodney Parade pitch a chance to recover ahead of the team's remaining fixtures.

Their next scheduled game at Rodney Parade is on Saturday, 27 March against Scunthorpe United.

Mark Jones, Managing Director at Dragons Rugby, said: "We have been in dialogue with Newport County AFC and understand the decision they have taken to take two games to Cardiff.

"With three back-to-back home weekends for Dragons in March, this decision will allow us to protect the pitch and aid its recovery before Newport County AFC return to Rodney Parade at the end of the month."

Exiles manager Mike Flynn described the Rodney Parade pitch, which the Exiles share with the Dragons Rugby region, as "the worst I have ever seen it".

Flynn attaches no blame to the ground staff because of those demands but admits the surface is making life difficult for his team as they chase promotion from League Two.

The pitch has been an issue for years as Newport share the stadium with two rugby teams, Dragons and Newport RFC.

But because of the pandemic the Rodney Parade hybrid pitch was unable to be re-laid last summer.