Spurs end Newport’s Cup run at second go

TOTTENHAM Hotspur finally ended lowly Newport County’s brave FA Cup run with a 2-0 win in a fourth-round replay at Wembley on Wednesday night.

Eight-time winners Spurs were just eight minutes away from a humiliating exit when England striker Harry Kane scored to salvage a 1-1 draw away to fourth-tier Newport last month.

But it was a different story at Wembley where, with South Ko r e a’s So n He u n g - mi n impressing for Tottenham, Dan Butler’s 26th-minute own goal and a strike from Erik Lamela (pictured, AFP) eight minutes later put Spurs 2-0 up before half-time.

Tottenham will now travel to third-tier strugglers Rochdale for a last-16 tie on the weekend of February 17-18.

“It’s the FA Cup and it’s difficult,” Tottenham manager

M a u r i - c i o Po c h e t t i n o told old the BBC. “But I am happy because we wanted to be in the he next round.

“Son Heungmin is doing fantastic antastic this season eason and h e f e e l s important. mportant.

“It is important ant to keep a n d wi n - going n i n g games. We are going to be very busy in the Premier League, Champions League and the FA Cup but we want to keep th this run.”

Meanwhile Newpo Newport manager Michael Flyn Flynn praised the visitor visitors’ performance.

“It was a good start in the first 25 minutes, b but the manner of the goal, th the way it went in, it took it o out of the boys and deflate deflated them,” he said. “I am ver ve y proud of the players. Th They put in a huge amount of wo work and they have done them themselves and the club proud. proud.”

But not even the lure of a fixture at Wembley, Spurs’s temporary home while a new ground that will replace White Hart Lane is constructed, could stop Newport midfielder Sean Rigg quitting between the two ties to become a tattoo artist.

Huge financial boost

The FA Cup has been a huge financial boost for Newport, with their run to this stage earning them at least £700,000 ($972,000).

But the concern for the Welsh club was that the chance of an upset had come and gone at their Rodney Parade ground, where a goal from Irish striker Padraig Amond put them on course for a famous FA Cup giantkilling.

Newport were far from overawed in the replay and they were unlucky when a cross from Moussa Sissoko deflected off Butler and past stranded goalkeeper Joe Day to put Spurs ahead.

It was not long before Spurs had their second goal, when Lamela, getting on the end of a well-weighted through ball from Son, scored for the first time since finding the net against Gillingham in September 2016.

Spurs were comfortable in the second half but late in the game Amond had a chance to add a Wembley goal to his one at Rodney Parade in the original tie only to shoot at Michel Vorm.