LET’S GET RODNEY ROCKING AGAIN!
Cup hero Dolan relishing Boro replay
FA Cup hero Matty Dolan is urging the Newport County faithful to help create another glory night when Middlesbrough come to town on Tuesday night.
Former Boro midfielder Dolan returned to haunt his old club when he came off the bench late on in the fourth round tie at the Riverside last weekend and fired home an injury time equaliser to send the Exiles fans delirious with joy.
It was another memorable FA Cup display by the League Two outfit – the last fourth tier side left in the competition – and means they can look forward to a second crack at Tony Pulis’ Championship high-flyers. And this time it’s at their Rodney Parade fortress.
Last season, Newport beat Leeds and drew with Tottenham at home, and this term they’ve already turfed out Premier League outfit Leicester on Welsh soil.
Hartlepool-born Dolan said: “You couldn’t have written it that I’d come on and score – it was a fantastic feeling. I was disappointed not to start the game, but the manager (Mike Flynn) said ‘go on and make an impact’. I sneaked in there to score and it sparked some brilliant scenes from the fans – we had plenty of travelling support and it was nice to give them something to shout about.
Successful
“In the last two seasons we’ve been pretty successful at home in the Cup and when the fans pack out Rodney Parade under the lights, the atmosphere is brilliant.
“It will be a sell-out and it’s quite an intimidating place for people to come. We will fancy ourselves against Boro but we won’t be over-confident. They are a top Championship side looking to get back into the Premier League.”
The replay has been chosen for live coverage on BT Sport 1, earning the club a £72,000 broadcast fee. They will trouser another £180,000 in prize money if they beat Boro – and line up a glamour home tie against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in round five.
Dolan said: “If we can beat Middlesbrough, then it will be a whole new kettle of fish – it would be brilliant to play Manchester City, and it would be an experience for them, too! I’m sure it would be on television channels worldwide.
“It’s nice for the club to be making money from the Cup run. It’s so important for a club in the lower divisions and thankfully we have delivered in the last two seasons. We made a few quid last year with the Tottenham replay (at Wembley) and Leicester was a sell-out this season.”
Downside
The only downside for Newport is that they have stumbled in League Two in recent months, falling down to mid-table after a positive start to the season.
A goalless draw at home against Port Vale, which turned out to be Vale boss Neil Aspin’s last game in charge, brought them crashing back down to earth in midweek.
However, they were just seven points off the play-offs heading into yesterday’s game at Grimsby and have a game or two in hand on their rivals.
It’s something of a repeat of last season when Newport shone in the Cup, but then faltered in the league, eventually finishing 11th in League Two.
“Last year we dropped off and we want to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” added Dolan. “If we win the two games in hand, it would put us up to around eighth and we have shown we have quality on our day. We can match any team when we are on form.
“It is frustrating, we didn’t pick up enough points in December. However, we got a good result against Exeter (won 1-0) a couple of weeks ago and got a point against Port Vale. We want to get back up there.”