Manchester City reached the FA Cup quarter-finals as they broke Newport County’s resistance to end the League Two side’s memorable run in this season’s competition.
Newport, fresh from beating Leicester City and Middlesbrough, produced another strong display in the competition to hold Pep Guardiola’s men at the interval.
But two Phil Foden goals and strikes from Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez ended Newport’s hopes and denied them the chance to become the first side from the fourth tier to reach the last eight since 1990.
The Welsh side even missed the best chance of the first half, when Ederson produced a diving save to deny Tyreeq Bakinson’s close-range header.
The second half belonged to the visitors as Sane broke the deadlock from close range six minutes after half time.
Foden doubled the advantage with an excellent dribble and finish, before Padraig Amond scored a late goal that gave the hosts brief hope of a fightback – and maintained his record of scoring in every round of the competition.
However, Foden ensured there was no grandstand finish with his second goal moments later and Mahrez scored a fourth in injury time.
Newport County’s fans gave their side a standing ovation at full time as their weary players did a lap of honour.
Newport run City close despite financial gulf
There was no overstating the gulf between these two clubs – Newport, with a squad value totalling £70,000, against Manchester City, the world’s most richly-assembled squad at around £450m.
When Sergio Aguero was scoring the most famous goal in the history of the Premier League to fire Manchester City to their first Premier League title in 2012, Newport were still floundering in non-league.
The Exiles, so named because of a nomadic existence that saw them playing in Gloucestershire post-1989 when the original club went bust, have fought and scraped simply to return to the Football League’s lower reaches, where they are 15th in League Two.
They have been the story of this season’s competition, having stunned Premier League Leicester City and Championship Middlesbrough in rounds three and four.
And, against all the odds, there seemed a chance that run might continue when Mickey Demetriou’s long throw was flicked on in the 15th minute, only for Ederson to superbly claw away Bakinson’s point-blank header from six yards.
County were a menace from long throws and Joss Labadie fired wide from another of them, but the second period became a prolonged exercise in defending for the League Two side.
They did, however, give their fans a moment to savour when a long ball in the 88th minute caught City cold and allowed Amond to clip home and raise the roof in Newport.
City still chasing the quadruple
City’s consistency this term means they are still fighting for trophies on four fronts, with the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea to come next week for the Premier League leaders, who are still in the Champions League and who have been in fine form throughout 2019.
After 25 minutes of their last Premier League game against Chelsea, Guardiola’s men were 4-0 ahead, but Newport provided far stiffer resistance against their irresistible attacking talents.
The visitors were largely restricted to long-range efforts in the first half, with Mahrez forcing Day to smother and Fernandinho and Danilo shooting wide of the target.
Not until the 35th minute when Sane hit the bar from a smart one-two did City look like breaking the deadlock, and Newport held firm until the interval despite Mark O’Brien appearing to block a Sane shot with his arm.
Sane was increasingly the most likely player to create a chance and on 51 minutes his fierce drive deflected in off Day’s face as Newport’s resistance was broken.
Danilo struck a post as City pushed for a second to make the game safe, before Foden capped an impressive display by firing past Day at his near post with the ball going through the Newport goalkeeper’s hands.
City might have wobbled after Amond’s goal but Foden swept home less than a minute later, with Mahrez adding a late fourth that flattered the visitors.
‘I’m very proud’ – manager reaction
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: “We were calm in the second half and we made an incredible performance considering the conditions.
“David Silva is incredible, 33 years old and he fights and plays with this kind of level. David is a fantastic player, what can I add more about his qualities?
“What we have done so far is try to go game by game and try to win so the way you have to play against Chelsea at home is completely different to the game here.
“We will see in May and June how we do but it is important to be there in all competitions in February. The result will be shown at the end and now we have to recover and prepare for our trip to Germany [to face Schalke in the Champions League].”
Newport manager Michael Flynn speaking to BBC Match of the Day: “I’m very proud of the team they were outstanding. I am disappointed with the two goals conceded in injury time, because at 2-1 you have a grandstand finish, for something to fall your way and you are coming back from 2-0 against one of the best teams in Europe. There is no disgrace in losing they have beat bigger clubs by more.
“I have got a very good group of players and I can’t speak highly enough of them. We need to move on now – we have a tough game on Tuesday in the league. I’ll give a tap on the back for them and then we go back to work.”
Man of the match – Phil Foden (Man City)
Sane’s fine recent run – the best stats
- Man City have reached the FA Cup quarter-final for the 25th occasion and for the first time since 2016-17.
- Newport have lost just two of their last 12 FA Cup matches (W7 D3), with each defeat coming against one of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ sides (also Spurs in 17-18).
- Newport County have lost both of their FA Cup fifth-round ties, also falling to defeat against Portsmouth in 1949.
- Man City’s Leroy Sane has had a hand in 25 goals in 32 appearances in all competitions this season (12 goals, 13 assists), including registering nine goal involvements in his last eight.
- Man City’s Gabriel Jesus has been directly involved in 21 goals in 34 games this season (16 goals, 5 assists), one more than he managed in 42 games last season (17 goals, 3 assists).
- All five of Phil Foden’s Man City goals have come in domestic cup competitions (3 FA Cup, 2 League Cup).
- Newport’s Padraig Amond has scored five goals in this season’s FA Cup, more than any other player. The striker scored in each of the first five rounds of the competition this term.
- Newport’s Joe Day has made more saves than any other goalkeeper in the FA Cup this season (24).
Source: BBC News
