FA Cup: Newport County 2 Manchester United 4
It was a bumpy, disconcerting ride for Erik ten Hag and that was long after the Manchester United manager negotiated more questions about Marcus Rashford’s apparent indiscipline. Rashford was conspicuous by his absence, not in the United squad that flew into Cardiff owing, Ten Hag said, to an internal matter, days after the forward reported ill for training, hours after allegedly being pictured in a Belfast nightclub. On the pitch, United avoided an ignominious defeat at Newport County, with Antony and Rasmus Højlund, late on, scoring to prevent the League Two side from recording a historic result and forcing a replay. Newport rallied from 2-0 down, after early strikes by Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo, his first senior goal, to level in the second half and make for an enthralling encounter.
Until Bryn Morris’s strike deflected in off Lisandro Martínez on 36 minutes, it seemed this tie would be something of an anti-climax, after all. Newport ensured anything but. Will Evans, who up until two years ago was milking cows on his parents’ farm in mid-Wales, notched their equaliser early in the second half and sent a shot whistling past a post in the 90th minute. A grandstand finish seemed a given when the fourth official, Andrew Kitchen, indicated nine minutes of added time, during which Højlund fired in from close range to wrap up victory
“It is fair to say Newport is on the map,” the stadium announcer bellowed in the minutes before kick-off, as the self-professed amber army bounced in the stands. Christian Eriksen and Amad Diallo were among the United substitutes who could not help but smile as they headed down the touchline and towards the benches. “You’re getting sacked in the morning,” was Newport fans’ unique way of greeting Ten Hag as he took his spot in the away dugout. The fifth round promises a trip to the winner of second-tier Bristol City’s replay at Nottingham Forest.
Graham Coughlan, Newport’s manager, shook his head in disbelief as he headed in from the warmup. In the moments before the first whistle, Newport’s players, many of them boyhood United fans, lined up to shake hands with their United counterparts, the home players cradling their children over their shoulders, ramming home that these one-off occasions run deeper than the dressing-room walls.
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Newport erected a temporary stand to accommodate an extra 1,000 supporters, enhancing the noise and boosting the capacity closer to 10,000, and those who could not get their hands on tickets resorted to unorthodox measures. A couple of the terraced houses on Rodney Road, which flanks one side of this rickety stadium, created room for two dozen or so supporters to take in the game from makeshift scaffolded viewing platforms. At full time, they roared the players off the pitch.
It was those supporters and those on the expanded North Terrace who had the best seats in the house when this place went ballistic two minutes into the second half, Evans converting Adam Lewis’ low cross from the left to equalise. Lewis, who is on loan from Liverpool and went to school with Trent Alexander-Arnold, would surely have savoured every second. Suddenly, United surging into a two-goal lead inside 13 minutes was a distant memory, as the home support cheered every Newport block and basked in every United wrong move. United were rattled and Altay Bayindir, on debut, hoiked a pass straight out of play. “Everywhere we go, watching Newport County, putting on a show,” was the terrace chant now on loop.
A stoppage in play on 64 minutes when Newport’s goalkeeper, Nick Townsend, required treatment gave Coughlan a chance to drill his players. Inside, he must have been bursting with pride. Earlier in the week, Coughlan had stressed the need to suffocate United’s midfield at all times. Morris and Aaron Wildig, free transfers, relished the battle against Casemiro, a five-time Champions League winner, and Fernandes, signed for a combined £117m.
David Pipe, the Newport kit man who enjoyed two spells as a player here, handed out water bottles to Newport’s current crop. Hydration to fuel one of the greatest comebacks, let alone Cup upsets? Ten Hag must have felt a pang of relief four minutes later, when United regained the lead through Antony. Luke Shaw cut inside on to his right foot and sent a shot against Townsend’s left post but Antony was on hand to stab in the rebound.
Newport, 16th in League Two, were a credit to themselves and, indeed, the pyramid. Newport, a team assembled for a pittance compared to United’s, which cost north of £400m, pushed until the final whistle and that the game was not truly dead until the 94th minute was testament to their no-holds-barred performance. With barely a minute left on the clock, the Newport substitute James Waite forced Bayindir into a fingertip save. United had to work up a sweat to get the job done.
- Guardian
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