“We couldn’t, could we?” wrote Michael Flynn, Newport County’s manager, in the match programme. No was the answer but Newport gave it one hell of a go on a day that will live long in the memory for every one of their supporters. Ultimately, Manchester City’s class told as two goals from Phil Foden and another two from Leroy Sané and Riyad Mahrez brought the League Two club’s fairytale to an end and eased the Premier League champions into the quarter-finals.
The fact that it took 51 minutes for City to open the scoring says everything about the belief, courage and spirt that Newport showed against Pep Guardiola’s team. Newport could even have taken the lead but for a terrific save from Ederson and those were the moments when the home fans dared to dream.
Written by Stuart James at Rodney Parade
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/feb/16/newport-county-manchester-city-fa-cup-match-report under the title “Sané and Foden send City through as dogged Newport are finally downed”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
