This was Juan Foyth’s fifth start but the first game away from the home comforts and a pristine pitch of Wembley and a very different challenge dealing with a badly cut-up surface, being turned by a barrage of long balls and being chased down by Newport County’s aggressive strikers.
It is probably fair to assume that it is a long time, if ever, since the young Argentinian faced similar hostile conditions as he came through the ranks at Estudiantes and has been at Tottenham Hotspur since the summer, where he enjoys some of the best facilities in the Premier League. It was a torrid evening but the 20-year old could hold his head up higher than many of his senior teammates who looked under prepared and unwilling to roll up the sleeves for the fight.
Perhaps it would have been wiser at times for Foyth to have just put his boot through the ball and clear the danger but he has ingrained principles and was keen to show his composure and dribble through the worst parts of the pitch. That is not surprisingly as Foyth played as an attacking midfielder until the head coach of Estudiantes Under-16s spotted his potential and converted him to central defence when he was 15.
When Foyth collected the ball with his back to goal in the opening moments, he felt Frank Nouble and spun around the striker and ran away. Nouble was having none of it and chopped Foyth to the ground. Another time in the first half Foyth turned inside and out and was clobbered by Dan Butler. Welcome to Rodney Parade.
Nouble is recorded on the internet as being just an inch taller than Foyth but from the home stand the young centre back seems to shrink from his said height and weight of 6ft 1in and a shade under 11 stone. He looks immeasurably smaller and slighter, as if should have been turning out for the Under-16 side earlier in the day. He was an easy meal. Nouble, coming off the left wing, was a different physical test to an early baptism Foyth had when he encountered the wild arms of the brawny Andy Carroll in the Carabao Cup and he made costly mistakes that night
Advertisement
Nouble knows the rough and tumble of the lower leagues and Foyth was not helped by Eric Dier looking shaky and nervous to his left. Dier and Jan Vertonghen seemed to be over compensating for Kyle Walker-Peters being poor and targeted at left wing back and the upshot was that there was space to get at Foyth. Newport exposed Foyth and Kieran Trippier at right wing back, for the opening goal.
Foyth’s shirt was covered in mud at the break and it seemed cruel for Mauricio Pochettino to put him back on with a fresh jersey for the second half. The Tottenham manager could have withdrawn him and reverted to a back four. Foyth was more accustomed to the challenge after the break and, perhaps, he was only starting because Davinson Sanchez has played a lot owing to Toby Alderweireld being out injured with a hamstring issue since the start of November.