This Saturday, we kick off our Emirates FA Cup campaign for a new season at Rodney Parade against Peterborough United in the opening round.
With historic victories over Leicester City, Leeds United, and forcing Tottenham Hotspur to a historic rematch at Wembley, the Exiles enjoy a stellar record in the competition.
We reflect on the incredible 2018–19 season with striker Padraig Amond, who started and scored in every round of that season, as part of the pregame build-up.
The Exiles began the competition with an away match against Metropolitan Police, a team in the seventh division.
With goals from Amond and Jamille Matt, County shown incredible fortitude to win 2-0 in spite of difficult circumstances.
After hitting the post and having a header disallowed for offside, Amond scored from a corner. Matt’s close-range goal just after halftime gave Newport a two-goal advantage.
“The weather conditions that day were terrible and it had every chance of being a banana skin match,” Amond remarked in reference to the first game versus the non-league team. In retrospect, my primary recollection is that we most likely ought to have lost; in fact, we ought to have been behind by a few goals early on in the first half.
“In retrospect, I believe that five or six players were playing me onside when I had a goal disallowed.
“We had a little luck with the first goal, and then the game shifted in our favour. I had assumed it would be one of those days where nothing goes your way.
“We were happy to finish the game with a win; that was our primary goal.”
In Round Two, County faced Wrexham in an all-Welsh rivalry at Rodney Parade. Newport came home to a resounding 4-0 triumph in front of a boisterous crowd following a goalless draw in the first match at the Racecourse.
After Luke Young of Wrexham was sent off early for a violent tackle, the game shifted in Newport’s favour. The Exiles took the lead thanks to a header from Amond, goals from Dan Butler’s left-footed effort, Jamille Matt, and an own goal by Mark Carrington.
“We probably should have lost the first leg,” Amond recalls. “I recall that the lead-up to the game was a little odd because Shrewsbury had recently fired their manager, and the two front-runners for the position were Flynny (Michael Flynn) and Ricketts (Sam Ricketts).” We were fortunate up there, though, since it was reported a few hours prior to the game that Ricketts would not be taking the match and would instead be travelling to Shrewsbury.
“We knew that we always tended to perform exceptionally well when we played at home in the FA Cup when we returned to Rodney Parade. We were much aided by their early red card, and from that point on, there was only ever
There will only be one winner.
“Winning the welsh derby and earning the bragging rights for the fans that night was amazing.”
In the third round, the Exiles faced former Premier League winners Leicester City, where they pulled off one of the biggest upsets in their history.
Jamille Matt’s header put Newport ahead, but Rachid Ghezzal pulled Leicester even before Amond’s game-winning penalty, which Marc Albrighton had awarded for a handball, sent the crowd into a frenzy.
“You had to believe you could create an upset going into these types of games against Leicester,” Amond remarked after a fantastic night against the foxes. The fact that we were hosting the Premier League winners from the previous campaign and knew we could cause them harm was crucial for us.
“Leicester had an unbelievable side, players who had won the league, full of internationals, champions league players, you name it. They had so much quality.
“We knew, however, there was a chance because we always believed that, especially after the Leeds and Tottenham scalps the previous season. We fell short against Spurs the year before and we all used that as motivation.
“Robbie’s cross from the right was brilliant for Jamille’s goal. It was a coincidence that he headed in at the far post from the same place I scored from against Tottenham the previous season.
“I think Leicester scored roughly the same time as Harry Kane did the previous season too. We were almost thinking ‘ah here we go again’ but thankfully, straight away from kick-off, we found the winner.
“It was great moment to have that chance to score the goal and you were just praying that we held on to secure that big upset.”
Following their victory over Leicester, the Exiles faced Middlesbrough in the fourth round.
After a late equaliser from Matty Dolan forced a replay, Newport dominated the return fixture, winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Willmott and Amond.
This victory propelled Newport into a fifth-round clash against Manchester City.
“The goal against Middlesbrough is by far my best goal in terms of technical ability, but the funny thing is we never worked on that corner,” Amond said of the winning goal.
“The corner was something that we came up with at half-time, I remember speaking to Hatts [Wayne Hatswell] who took all the set plays and we watched back a couple of corners in the first-half and pin-pointed a weakness at the near post.
“The only people who knew about that routine were myself, Robbie and Mark O’Brien. OB did a great job to block the defender and once Robbie knew what I was doing he just rolled the ball back to me.
“It was one of them things that you could practice for hours and hours on the training ground. Sometimes you could practice that the day before the game and it wouldn’t come off, but you knew in a game like that you would get it right.
“It was a brilliant feeling after that because you knew with a two-goal cushion that you were near enough through to facing the Premier League champions.”
The Exiles’ incredible FA Cup run came to an end when they faced Premier League powerhouse Manchester City in the fifth round.
As the first fourth-tier team to go to the final eight since 1990, Newport sought to create history. They played admirably, keeping City goalless at halftime, but lost 4-1 in the end. Tyreeq Bakinson missed a close-range header that Ederson saved, giving Newport a chance.
Newport’s hopes were dashed by Phil Foden’s two goals as well as goals from Leroy Sané and Riyad Mahrez. For a brief moment, the home crowd had hope when Amond scored a late goal to continue his record of scoring in every round of the competition.
At full time, Newport’s fans celebrated their amazing cup run by giving their team a standing ovation despite the loss.
Amond remarked, “The entire memories of that game for everyone were incredible,” in reference to that memorable tie. Their players were of unimaginable quality. That evening’s entire event was incredibly memorable. For everyone, it was an insane time.
Some of the players and touches I witnessed that evening were just elite. They outperformed every player we faced that season. We simply tried to divide the game into 10-minute blocks, and it was a fantastic accomplishment to reach halftime at 0-0.
Once more, it was humorous, but I recall that following City’s defeat, we all left the pitch. We all thought we could win the game after giving up those two late goals.
“In front of the Amber Army, we always imagined ourselves at home against anyone.”
The forward was well-liked at the Club and had a close bond with the Amber Army over his five years with the Exiles.
The Irishmen won the FA Cup Golden Ball and County Player of the Season award in 2019 after scoring 59 goals in 206 games.
“I had the best time at the club,” Amond said in closing. Since both of our children were born in Newport, the city will always have a particular place in my heart and in the hearts of our families.
“I loved wearing that shirt every week, and I loved Newport as a city and a football team.” I only have positive recollections of the club because I had some wonderful times there.
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