NEWPORT County manager Anthony Hudson will give trialists Arthur Gomez and Ryan Gilligan another chance to impress in tonight’s pre-season friendly at Neath.
The pair made their first appearances in an amber shirt on Wednesday night as County were outclassed by Spanish giants Real Betis, losing 3-0 to the La Liga new boys.
Gambian international striker Gomez is currently without a club after a nomadic career that has taken him from Manchester United as a 17-year-old to teams in Belgium and China.
The 27-year-old will feature again at The Gnoll tonight alongside midfielder Gilligan, who is still under contract at League Two club Northampton.
The Argus understands that the Cobblers would be prepared to let the 24-year-old leave on a free.
“I thought both players did well against Betis,” said Hudson.
“Gomez showed he can be a real handful for defenders but it’s difficult to judge on just one game so we will take another look at them.”
Guillaume Velez and Ben Johnson are also likely to be involved again with both players close to a move to Spytty Park.
Despite a comprehensive defeat against Betis, Hudson was happy with the performance of his makeshift side.
“They are obviously a top team but it was a good exercise for us,” he explained.
“We were without seven or eight players, mostly through choice, and I was really pleased with how youngsters like Andrew Hughes, Ryan Newman and Troy Greening stood up to the test.
“In the first half we were a little bit ragged but we tidied things up in the second half and were disappointed to concede the third goal late on.
“It was arranged at the last minute and we had to be mindful of injuries and over-playing certain players,” he added.
“It will be a stronger team against Neath and at Undy on Sunday and then we will have a good week of full training before the Kettering game, which is the most important fixture.”
* Twitter: @argusoncounty
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