Every team seems to have a ground where results are hard to come by. For Newport, Waterside Park remains that place.

There had been hope that a visit before Christmas might bring a change of fortune, and the early signs were encouraging. Protecting an unbeaten away record, Newport started brightly and took the lead when Conor Kelly finished off a flowing counter-attack following an Aldermaston corner.

Despite several enforced changes in personnel and players taking on unfamiliar roles, the Port initially looked comfortable. But the hosts’ youthful energy began to tell as they created some promising chances, although their finishing was erratic.

Newport too often invited pressure through misplaced passes and lost battles for the second ball. The equaliser arrived on the half-hour, a fierce strike from a tight angle on the edge of the box flying past Leon Pitman’s right shoulder.

Brad Young glanced a header wide from the centre of the area, but Newport’s usual threat from set pieces was largely missing.

The second half offered little quality from either side. Aldermaston carried the greater attacking threat, while Newport defended resolutely and worked hard without building any sustained pressure of their own.

Conor Kelly and Ji Nash both tried their luck with free-kicks, but neither troubled the goalkeeper as their efforts went over the bar.

The decisive moment came midway through the half when Jack Egerton Read was judged to have caught an attacker’s foot. The resulting penalty was duly converted to put the hosts ahead.

Aldermaston almost added a third after Leon Pitman was caught in possession high up the pitch. A chaotic passage of play followed, more Keystone Cops than composed football, before Pitman eventually recovered to save on the line.

Newport huffed and puffed in the closing stages but never really looked like finding the equaliser needed to preserve their unbeaten away record.

A home game on Tuesday is followed by a ten-day break from fixtures. That should offer a chance to get some players back and give the squad a much-needed opportunity to recharge.

Once again, credit goes to the travelling supporters, who battled ferry cancellations and decidedly cooler weather to get behind the team.

One day, the curse of Waterside Park will be broken.