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ACTS OF FOD SHATTER PORT’S MINNOWS AS PHIL TURNS ON STYLE
Day 7; Poole 7, O’Brien 8, Demetriou 8, Butler 7; Willmott 7, Bennett 7 (Franks 86th), Bakinson 7 (Sheehan (61st) 6, Labadie 7 (Dolan (68th) 6); Amond 8; Matt 7
PEP GUARDIOLA needed a second-half blitz to shatter Newport County’s heroic FA Cup run.
The Welsh minnows went toe-to-toe with Premier League champions Manchester City and went down fighting.
Leroy Sane finally got the breakthrough just before the hour mark before Phil Foden showed his class to score a stunning solo goal.
Newport striker Padraig Amond kept up his habit of scoring in every round of the FA Cup to give Michael Flynn’s men hope.
But Foden completed his brace before Riyad Mahrez finished them off late on to advance into the quarter-finals.
Ederson looked on in disbelief as Goldie Looking Chain jumped about performing their very own Newport County rap during his warm-up.
The Amber Army had done everything in their power to unsettle Guardiola’s Premier League champions but there was a moment’s silence as the City team ran out.
In came the likes of David Silva, Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus and
Foden, while Sane was retained from the 6-0 hammering of
Chelsea last weekend.
Goalkeeper Joe Day, who hit the headlines for missing the birth of his twin girls during the heroic fourth-round win over Leicester, paraded Emelia Lillie and Sophie Grace to the adoring crowd.
Chelsea could have taken lessons from Newport’s combative start as they refused to be overawed by their world-class opposition.
And if Pep’s stars needed a reminder of Newport’s giant-killing expertise, they got it after 15-minutes.
Mickey Demetriou launched a long throw into the box and watched Jamille Matt flick it towards the far post for the unmarked Tyreeq Bakinson to nod towards the bottom corner.
The Bristol City loanee steered it on target from five yards out but Ederson produced a stunning reflex save down to his right.
Newport started the second half brightly but finally crumbled when Sane sprinted down the left wing and linked with Jesus, who lifted the ball over the defence and back into his path.
The German winger unleashed a powerful shot straight at Day but it caught the County keeper by surprise, hit him in the face and bounced over the goal-line.
Then some FA Cup magic from Foden ensured County would not be staging another upset.
The England Under-21s starlet broke on the halfway line before he bamboozled Dan Butler with a pair of step-overs and found the bottom corner with a driven shot.
There was still time for Amond to grab his obligatory cup goal latching on to
Josh Sheehan’s long ball and lifting it over Ederson.
Any hopes of a famous comeback were extinguished by Foden, who brought the ball down in the box and sent a left-footed strike past Day into the top corner.
Mahrez then took advantage of Newport’s tiring legs when he snuck in behind and hit the back of the net from close range.
Newport’s magical FA Cup run may be over for another season but their financial future is secured and their stock is higher than ever.
Ederson 7; Danilo 6, Stones 7, Otamendi 7, Zinchenko 7; Foden 8, Fernandinho 8 (Laporte 79th), D Silva 7 (Gundogan 82nd); Mahrez 5, Jesus 6, Sane 8 Phil Foden A Marriner Notts County (A), Feb 19 Schalke (A), Feb 20