Newport County manager Michael Flynn believes his side opened the door to a brighter future despite being cruelly denied a stunning FA Cup shock by Harry Kane. Rodney Parade was rocking until the England forward cancelled out Padraig Amond’s 38th-minute header in the final throes.
The hostile home support would have been dreaming of Wembley, but they will be heading there sooner than planned for another money-spinning tie that could pave the way for a new era under Flynn.
“I’m gutted for them as they scored so late,” said Flynn. “They’ve made me the proudest manager in the country right now. It’s huge, it can make a real difference for clubs in the lower leagues. It doesn’t just keep you ticking over.
“We turn over £2.2m a year as a football club but this run will give us an excess of 700K. It allows us to lay foundations for the future. We have a good group of people running the club and I trust they’ll spend it well. This cup run has helped us get a new generation of fans, when we went out of business we lost a generation. That buzz and that crowd were amazing, best atmosphere I’ve experienced at Rodney Parade.”
The reverse fixture may well inject enough funds into the coffers for a new training ground after 30 years of instability, while they will have certainly won a host of new fans in this corner of the country. A predictable grey hue was cast over Rodney Parade, but there was a bright sense of hope burning in the bowels of the old rugby ground. The sell-out crowd of nearly 10,000 were here to witness the next chapter of Newport’s sporting history unfold after seeing their side dump Championship giants Leeds out in the third round with a 2-1 victory.
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The club are firmly back on their feet but still without a permanent training ground and it was hoped the windfall from this fixture would allow the League Two side to find a new base, but first they had to face up to some of European football’s brightest stars. If the fervent Newport support were not already believing they could end a 54-year wait for victory over top-flight opposition, they were after an authoritative start almost left Spurs stunned.
Joss Labadie robbed Eric Dier of possession in the fourth minute and squared it for Frank Nouble. The home support were off their seats as the forward ran onto the ball, but his shot flew high and wide behind Michel Vorm’s goal.
Kane only managed 11 touches in the first 26 minutes as Spurs failed to get to grips with the fourth-tier minnows, but only a stunning save from Joe Day stopped him breaking the deadlock. The Real Madrid target latched onto Moussa Sissoko’s cross after a powerful surge down the right, but Day tipped it onto the post and away from danger. And they were made to pay for their missed opportunity seven minutes before half-time.
A Ben Tozer long throw was only cleared as far as former supermarket assistant Robbie Willmott, who delivered an inch-perfect cross for Amond to head home at the back post.
The visitors came out firing after the break and should have made their second-half dominance count after 57 minutes. Kieran Trippier put an accurate ball across the Newport six-yard box onto the head of Kane, but he could not add to the 33 goals he had scored this term.
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Dele Alli was introduced in the 66th minute and made an instant impact. His charging run and through-ball put fellow substitute Heung-min Son in on goal. Yet Day was not about to let his clean sheet and a place in the fifth round slip as he rushed out to face the South Korean, sticking out a leg to block his shot.
The dream of a fifth-round place was denied in the 82nd minute just when it looked as if Newport would hold on. A Trippier corner was flicked on by Son and Kane was in the right place to tap the ball into the back of the net.
Mauricio Pochettino was left marvelling at the magic of the FA Cup afterwards. The Tottenham manager said: “I hear FA Cup was magic and today you didn’t see the difference between the teams in Premier League and League Two. We need to realise if we want to do something special we can’t miss the opportunity. I think we were aware the key was to have the capacity to challenge them in the areas.
“We had to show more desire and motivation than them. I am relieved to be going away with a draw.”
Star man: Joe Day (Newport County)