Foden at the double to see off gallant Newport
newPORT COUnTy 1
Amond (88)
MAnCHesTeR CITy 4
Sane (51), Foden (75, 89), Mahrez (90) Manchester City kept their quadruple hopes alive with a win at Newport to reach the quarter-finals.
Second-half goals from Leroy Sane, Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez ensured City’s class eventually told against opponents 82 places below them on the league ladder.
Padraig Amond maintained his record of scoring in every round for Newport, two minutes from time, but hopes of a dramatic comeback were brief a sF oden’ s second and Mahrez finished the job.
City had scored 12 goals without reply against Rotherham and Burnley to reach the last 16, but it was never going to be as straightforward away to County, hosts who have made a habit of embarrassing bigger clubs.
Newport have beaten Leeds, Leicester and Middlesbrough, as well as drawing with Tottenham, at Rodney Parade in the last
14 months and they again emerged with credit for frustrating City for so long.
County manager Michael Flynn reckoned a home win would represent the biggest upset in the history of the competition, surpassing famous giant-killing acts administered by the likes of Lincoln, Hereford and Wrexham.
Whatever the truth of that, there is no dispute that these two clubs reside in different worlds.
Even without the likes of Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling – with the latter two on the bench – City’s starting
line-up cost around £320m, while Newport’s was a modest £50,000 spent on goalkeeper Joe Day and striker Amond.
The homely surrounds of Rodney Parade would also have been a shock to the system of City’s millionaires used to playing at the world’s grandest stadiums.
City, predictably, dominated possession – touching nearly 90% in some periods of the game – but the visitors only had to cast their minds back to last season’s fifthround defeat at Wigan to know the potential pitfalls.
Mahrez and Fernandinho had early sights of goal, but Pep Guardiola’s pre-match fears about Newport’s set-piece strength manifested themselves after just 14 minutes.
Jamille Matt flicked on Mickey Demetriou’s towering throw and Tyreeq Bakinson, arriving unmarked at the far post, seemed certain to put himself on the
scoresheet. However, Ederson showed incredible reactions in the City goal to dive to his right and somehow claw the ball to safety.
City went ahead six minutes after the break when Gabriel Jesus fed Sane, whose powerful drive went in off the face of Day.
City almost doubled their advantage immediately when a crisp passing move ended with Danilo firing against a post.
Newport were now in danger of being hypnotised by City’s passing patterns and Foden advanced unchecked from the halfway line to the edge of the area to fire under Day’s body.
Amond gave the home fans a goal to remember when he chipped the ball over the stranded Ederson.
But hopes of a grandstand finish evaporated as Foden displayed his obvious talents again with another jinking run and shot and Mahrez produced another clinical finish in stoppage time.