While football supporters normally celebrate when their team earns a penalty, Newport County fans face the moment with apprehension due to a historically low conversion rate.
The Worst Conversion Rate in the EFL
Across the past two seasons, Newport County has converted only two out of nine penalties across all competitions, including just one of six in League Two. Their 16.7% success rate stands as the worst in the entire English Football League (EFL), presenting a potential obstacle for a squad sitting just two points away from the play-offs. Three different managers and multiple players have attempted to solve the problem with little change in the outcome.
Hope briefly emerged in October when midfielder Harrison Biggins successfully scored from the spot during a draw against Rotherham. That optimism disappeared just four days later when Biggins stepped up against Cheltenham Town and missed, shooting to the same side and watching his effort get saved in a 1-0 defeat.
Manager’s Perspective on Spot-Kicks
Manager Hayden Mullins defended Biggins following the miss at Cheltenham, drawing on his own experiences as a professional player for clubs like Crystal Palace, West Ham, and Portsmouth. “We never lay any blame on anyone who steps up to take a penalty,” the 47-year-old manager said, adding that penalties are challenging and function as a game of cat and mouse between the taker and the goalkeeper.
Pattern analysis reveals that six of Newport’s last nine penalties went toward the right side, with opposing goalkeepers guessing correctly every time to deny Cameron Antwi, Nathaniel Opoku, Bobby Kamwa, and Shaquille Gwengwe, alongside Biggins’ saved shot against Cheltenham. Alternate approaches brought varied outcomes, such as Ged Garner getting denied to the left against Swindon Town, and Yahya Bamba hitting the top corner only to have his goal disallowed for a double touch before converting the retake.
Mullins described his own technique as waiting to see which way the goalkeeper moved before going the other way, noting that the method requires bravery. Newport previously enjoyed better success between 2023 and 2025, when forwards Will Evans and Omar Bogle converted 10 of 13 spot-kicks.
Mullins typically assigns sole penalty duties to his centre-forward. Gwengwe missed three games due to suspension after his own penalty miss, but returns to availability after regularly practicing spot-kicks in extended post-training sessions. Despite the poor statistics, Mullins stated he would never spend too much energy worrying about the conversion rate, emphasizing that penalties depend on multiple factors like fatigue, mindset, and pressure.
The team continues to practice the situation ahead of upcoming fixtures.
