Newport 2-4 Manchester United: FA Cup fourth round – as it happened | FA Cup

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Right, that’s about all from me. The match report has landed via Ben Fisher who watched a classic FA Cup tie in south Wales and you can read his verdict right here. Manchester United sail soar go into the fifth round.

Thanks and bye!

Say what you like about modern Manchester United, they know how to negotiate an FA Cup tie against minnows from the EFL. Which is something.

9 – Manchester United have reached the fifth round of the FA Cup in nine of the last 10 seasons, only failing to do so in the 2021-22 campaign (eliminated in fourth round). Relief. pic.twitter.com/QHXlHobbfm

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 28, 2024

Erik ten Hag takes the mic with the Beeb:

“First 35 minutes was very comfortable, it should have been 3-0 or 4-0, but then they score out of nothing. After half-time we made a mistake in defensive transition and then we had to start again.

“We controlled the game but maybe then we went a bit slower. They had nothing, really nothing.”

Bruno Fernandes chats to BBC Sport:

“It wasn’t the resulted we wanted. We wanted to win, we got it, but it wasn’t perfect for us. We didn’t want to concede goals.

“We can’t concede a goal and let them have some belief. We had chances to kill them and make it 3-0. But I think we did a great job to close the game after they got some belief.”

On winning the FA Cup: “We have to understand this is our chance to win a trophy this season and we have to give everything to get into the final. The FA Cup means a lot to our fans and the country.”

This was the goal in added time that eased the United nerves late on.

Applause from all four sides of Rodney Parade for the home side, who put in a really plucky performance. A day that most associated with Newport County will not forget in a hurry.

FT: Newport 2-4 Manchester United

There’s the full time whistle and a cup tie full of thrills and spills is brought to a close. Manchester United are safely into the fifth round draw – where they’ll play either Bristol City or Nottingham Forest – but Newport County did not disgrace themselves at all.

They battled back from a tricky start, with United 2-0 up and dominating, to give Erik ten Hag’s men a genuine scare after goals from Bryn Morris and Will Evans.

In the end, the superior quality of the Premier League side made the difference, with Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw all impressive.

90 mins + 6: The noise is now being made by the small number of travelling United fans but this has been far from easy. After 20 minutes or so, it looked exactly that, but a mini-implosion in the middle of the game almost gave us the upset.

Here comes Jonny Evans to help the visitors see the game out.

GOAL! Newport 2-4 Manchester United (Hojlund, 90+4)

They’ve finally sealed it and it’s Hojlund who is Jonny on the spot.

McTominay almost played it through to Forson and, as the bodies came in to block, it fell for the Dane to tuck it safely home and wrap up the tie.

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93 mins: Bayindir holds on from another Delaney looping header and United will get some respite. It’s crazy that they’re being forced to hold on here, really.

92 mins: It’s getting a bit scrappy and frenetic and Newport’s tactic now seems to be to shoot from everywhere and earn as many free-kicks and corners as possible.

It might just work.

NINE minutes of added time.

That gets a big cheer from the Exiles fans, after Evans aimed a piledriver at goal, which went just wide. Ooof.

89 mins: It’s been a productive afternoon for Antony; he goes off with a goal and an assist under his belt, while Martinez is removed for big ‘Arry Mags. Some height to defend these set pieces, perhaps.

88 mins: It comes to nothing but we’ll now get a substantial period of added time, which should create its own drama, providing the deficit stays at one goal.

Our thoughts are with the person affected by the medical emergency.

United are going to bring on Harry Maguire and Omari Forson.

86 mins: Play is now back under way with Newport to take this free-kick with McLoughlin.

This goal is currently the difference between the teams.

83 mins: Play is temporarily halted as there seems to be a medical emergency in the crowd. The Newport medics have rushed over to the stand in question.

81 mins: McTominay is joined by Willy Kambwala in entering the fray for the visitors, with Casemiro and Shaw – both recently back from injuries, of course – going off. Shaw has been really good.

80 mins: Here comes the inevitable Scott McTominay cameo for United. He’s limbering up on the touchline.

79 mins: More Newport changes

James Waite is on for Charsley, while Wildig is replaced by Kiban Rai. Scot Bennett is also going off, with Matthew Baker on in his stead.

78 mins: The game is becoming a bit stretched, with fatigue probably playing its part now. Garnacho gets another shooting chance cutting in from the left, but he finds Townsend’s midriff again.

75 mins: The Newport threat remains, and United may be wise to deny them any set piece opportunities, as they remain the primary means of danger.

United have a set piece of their own now, as Garnacho’s shot is blocked.

Join the debate on United, as Brendan Large has done:

Hi Dominic, could I just suggest to David Wall that comparing Newport to Tottenham is really letting United off the hook here.

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72 mins: United try and keep it alive and win it back in the Newport box and it results in the first yellow card of the game. Casemiro is the predictable receipient of it, for a late one.

70 mins: The first change of the game is made by Graham Coughlan.

69 mins: Sound the alarm: Antony has scored a goal and not just any goal, a goal with his right foot!

End of days stuff.

GOAL! Newport 2-3 Manchester United (Antony, 68)

Antony is on the scoresheet for the first time this season!

It’s a good right-footed shot from Luke Shaw that is curled against the post and Antony reacts quickly to turn home the rebound with his right foot. Relief for United.

Antony of Manchester United celebrates scoring. Photograph: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans/REX/Shutterstock
Newport County walk back to their half after conceding the third goal. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

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67 mins: Will Evans continues to cause problems, dropping deep and wide on occasion, this time picking out Charsley, who doesn’t have his shooting boots on. Well wide again.

An email from David Wall sums it all up from a United perspective:

Isn’t this just the story of United’s season, not taking their chances when they are on top in a game, then losing control of the game and struggling to get it back. You can go right back to the second game of the season at Spurs when both Fernandes and Rashford had completely unmarked headers that were easier to score than miss. Score one or both and they’d probably go on to win that match. But they miss them both then lose control of the game in the second half and end up losing. If the forward players has been only slightly more clinical then the whole season would look much more positive.

65 mins: Nick Townsend is getting some treatment in the Newport goal, so we’ll have a slight delay. It’s another chance for the crowd to raise the decibel level. Who’d have thought we’d be here after 20 minutes of this game?

64 mins: Manchester United have been guilty of overplaying it. Antony runs into trouble when passes were available. Then Garnacho gets his cross all wrong from the opposite flank.

Ten Hag scratches his head. Will he make a change here?

62 mins: Lisandro Martinez comes close to a goal on his return. Shaw’s cross is begging to be turned home and the Argentine’s effort is actually denied by Hojlund – the Danish striker couldn’t get himself out of the way.

60 mins: They couldn’t quite. Charsley volleys well wide on the turn – that would have been truly spectacular.

United have lost the plot a bit here. They’ve lost the control they had earlier in the match.

59 mins: Shaw and McLoughlin come to blows and Newport have another promising free-kick.

Could they?

57 mins: Newport appeal for a penalty for handball, then Delaney’s header forces a catch from Bayindir. United are being penned in here … Garnacho wins a soft free-kick to get them out of trouble.

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Newport fancy this. If they win 3-2, I think Ten Hag will explode with fury.

54 mins: Super diving catch from Townsend!

Antony did superbly to keep the ball in play down the right, Hojlund held it up and laid it off to Fernandes, but the United captain’s shot was too close to the goalkeeper.

53 mins: Corner to United after a fine pass from Shaw nearly plays Fernandes in. It’s then played short when none of the visiting players actually seemed ready. Strange.

Some thoughts from our readers on the Morris goal:

Kevin Cullen: “Replays made it look like it was going wide without Martinez deflection. And anybody who would take the goal away from Morris is soulless.”

Adam Roberts: “What Bryn Morris goal? Do you mean the Martinez own goal?”

51 mins: “You’re getting sacked in the morning,” is the jibe from the Newport fans. Has this United season been put under a witch doctor’s hex? Everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong.

49 mins: Ok, we’re now truly in giant-killing territory aren’t we?

How Newport have come back from 2-0 down, I really don’t know.

GOAL! Newport 2-2 Manchester United (Evans, 47)

OH MY GOD.

United are caught napping and Will Evans sneaks in at the near post to turn it home, as this place erupts. Dalot really switched off and Evans was quicker than Varane as he met the cross.

A goal for Will Evans! Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Newport celebrate. Can they get a third? Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

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46 mins: United are on the attack immediately and it falls for Antony to try and channel his inner Garnacho … his overhead kick isn’t quite as good as his teammate’s at Everton earlier this season. Over.

Second half: Time for a giant-killing or will Manchester United put their foot down? Let’s find out.

Can I take a straw poll on that Bryn Morris goal?

A bona fide FA Cup thunderbolt for the memory bank, or is it ruined by the deflection and therefore null and void? Or, indeed, will it only go down in history if Newport get a result?

As you can tell, I’m torn on this one.

Antony, Garnacho and Fernandes all had chances to make it 3-0, and then Morris went and did this (via a big deflection):

HT: Newport 1-2 Manchester United

United end the half pushing for a third goal but they don’t get it – Delaney parrying to deny Fernandes – and a rather topsy-turvy 45 minutes comes to a close.

For at least half an hour, it didn’t resemble the rough-and-tumble cup tie we all expected. United were utterly dominant, 2-0 up thanks to Fernandes and Mainoo and cruising. Then Bryn Morris scored from range and suddenly Newport believe. They will carry that belief into the half-time team talk and beyond.

Bryn Morris celebrates scoring against Manchester United. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images/Reuters

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45 minutes: We’ll have another two minutes of this enthralling first half.

44 mins: Newport are quicker to second balls than they were in the opening stages; they’re energised now and United might rue those misses. They could have been three or four clear.

42 mins: Newport have a free-kick in a good position, prime for a delivery into the box. Instead it’s squared across to Morris whose shot is easily blocked and United break away.

40 mins: Although that Morris goal has indeed woken up the home supporters, it also seems to have jolted the United players back into life. They were in cruise mode at 2-0, but they know they’re in a fight again.

38 mins: Rodney Parade believes again. The noise level cranks right back up. We have a cup tie now.

GOAL! Newport 1-2 Manchester United (Morris, 37)

A twist in the tale! Bryn Morris has scored out of virtually nothing!

He was absolutely miles out but sent in a thunderous effort that caught Bayindir cold. There was a deflection off Martinez, I think, as well but there was no stopping it. Goodness me. Game on?

Newport celebrate a goal by Bryn Morris. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

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36 mins: Bayindir is back-peddling after Lewis’s long throw is met by Delaney’s header. That’s a second save of the game for the United debutant.

34 mins: Garnacho is knocked to the ground after one of those corners and thinks he should have a penalty. If VAR was around, he may well have got it. He looked to have been kicked, but referee David Coote wasn’t interested.

33 mins: Antony is everywhere – but not really in the best sense. He’s doing a lot. Some of it is good; plenty isn’t so good.

A series of corners here for United.

31 mins: The Rodney Parade pitch is generally pretty good, but it’s also providing a few bizarre bobbles to keep the players honest.

That’s not stopping United too much though, as Antony shoots again and forces Townsend to fingertip it over the bar.

29 mins: Bruno Fernandes is absolutely running the show.

United work it nicely over to the left and Antony get into another great pocket of space in the box … again Delaney denies the chance. A great block to keep it at 2-0.





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