FA Cup preview: Newport County vs Tottenham Hotspur
Kick-off: January 27, 17:30 Venue: Rodney Parade Stadium
Opportunities like this come along once in a lifetime for clubs such as Newport County. Interest in the magic of the FA Cup, we’re told, is dwindling season by season, yet every so often arises a genuine David and Goliath spectacle.
Seventy one places separate the Welsh outfit and Tottenham Hotspur in the Football League tables. Spurs arrived in the fourth round by a routine route, via an eventual 3-0 brushing aside of AFC Wimbledon.
Since the draw was made, Newport manager Michael Flynn has motivated his players by warning they risked losing their place for the glamour cup tie. “That’s the team-talk done really,” he explained. It’s safe to say they won’t be needing any extra motivation on Saturday evening.
The Exiles shocked 1972 winners Leeds United in the last round, sandwiching that upset in between three successive 2-1 wins in League Two. They hosted Morecambe on Tuesday, drawing 1-1 to stay in eighth place.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men, meanwhile, have generally been in impressive form, winning four out of their last five league games prior to a disappointing 1-1 draw with Southampton. Nevertheless, he warned in his press conference that his side cannot afford to take their opponents lightly.
The last time Tottenham lost to fourth-tier opposition was when they faced Russell Slade’s Grimsby Town in September 2005. Jean-Paul Kamudimba Kalala scored the only goal on that night.
Team news
Tashan Oakley-Boothe is set to be one of several under-23 players who travel with the first-team squad. The youngsters have a decent chance of featuring too, as Tottenham have a host of absentees. Serge Aurier (calf) and Erik Lamela (bruised gluteus muscle) are both doubts.
Harry Winks (ankle), and Danny Rose (knee) are unlikely to be risked though they have not officially been ruled out completely, while Christian Eriksen and Hugo Lloris continue to recover from illness. Toby Alderweireld is back in training and could make the bench.
Expected line-ups:
Newport County: Day, Pipe, O’Brien, Demetriou, Butler, Tozer, Bennett, Willmott, Sheehan, Nouble, Amond
Tottenham: Vorm, Trippier, Vertonghen, Foyth, Walker-Peters, Dier, Sissoko, Son, Oakley-Boothe, Lamela, Llorente
Did you know? Spurs last faced Newport in 1960. It was a year before they won the double, but Bill Nicholson was still in charge and the side that day boasted several players, such as Cliff Jones, the original Welsh wing wizard, and Danny Blanchflower, who would go on to become club legends. Unsurprisingly, it ended 4-0.
Prediction: The message Tottenham have sent out with their team selections so far in the domestic cups is that they are taking these competitions seriously, as this remains their most realistic hope of a first trophy in 10 years.
Even if Harry Kane is given a well-earned rest, the visitors to Rodney Parade should have enough ammunition in their attack to blow the lower-league team away. Newport County 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur
