Stearn strike earns City deserved pre-season Exiles draw

A second-half Ross Stearn strike saw City hold League 2 Newport County to a 1-1 draw at a wet Twerton Park this evening. The Welsh visitors had the better of the first half and made this count three minutes before the interval when two of their trialists combined for a neat finish past Ryan Clarke. A raft of changes for the Exiles during the opening stages of the second half allowed City back into the game and they soon began to create a number of openings. The deserved equaliser arrived on 72 minutes when Stearn produced an excellent turn and shot into the corner of the net. City came the closest to grabbing a win when a Joe Raynes fired over the bar following great build-up play but it was another clear step forward in their preparations for the new Vanarama National League South season, now just over two weeks away.