Newcastle United face fourth-tier opposition for the second round running in tonight’s Carabao Cup tie with Newport County.
The Exiles have so far bettered Swansea City and Watford en route to their clash with Steve Bruce’s men and forward Paddy Amond has dealt a warning jab at what he perceives to be Newcastle’s pampered Premier League footballers.
"Let’s just say, the players will not get the luxury of Spurs at Rodney Parade.
"Due to COVID restrictions Newcastle won’t be in the proper changing rooms – which are too tight – instead they’ll be in a marquee at the back of the stand,” Amond told the Shields Gazette , in an attempt to stir the United camp.
Amond scored the winner against Watford in the last round and will be hoping to play a part in another giant-killing.
Newport 3-1 Watford (2020/21)
Most recently, Mike Flynn’s side saw off newly-relegated Watford at Rodney Parade, and despite the team from two divisions above fielding a weakened side, there were certainly some recognisable names turning out for the Hornets.
Craig Dawson, Ignacio Pussetto and Glenn Murray were among the starters in south Wales on a cold, wet evening. Newport were much the better side on the night, with Ryan Haynes making some serious inroads down the left-hand side. He will be expected to do exactly that against Newcastle.
Newport 2-0 Swansea City (2020/21)
Earlier in this season’s competition, there was an all-Welsh clash between Newcastle’s next opponents and Championship outfit Swansea. The Swans – now managed by Under-17 World Cup-winning manager Steve Cooper – fell at the first hurdle in this year’s League Cup campaign.
Dangerman Tristan Abrahams scored both goals at Rodney Parade against a near full-strength Swansea team which included Andre Ayew, Morgan Gibbs-White, Wayne Routledge, Kyle Naughton, Joe Rodon and Newcastle’s own Freddie Woodman.
Newport 2-0 Middlesbrough (2018/19)
The Exiles have previous when it comes to defeating higher tier opposition from the northeast, turning over Tony Pulis’ Boro team in 2019. Striker Amond was the key man in this win, scoring after peeling across the front post at a corner to give Mike Flynn’s men a commanding 2-0 lead.
Boro fielded a strong team but could not muster enough to surpass the efforts of the fourth tier club. Jordan Hugill, Britt Assombalonga, Aden Flint, Paddy McNair and George Friend all started in what was an exciting encounter on a terrible surface at Rodney Parade.
Newport 2-1 Leicester City (2018/19)
The common denominator for Newport’s cup upsets is that they have all been played at their home ground. Leicester arrived for an evening kick-off in January 2019 and found themselves a goal down within the first 10 minutes.
Rachid Ghezzal equalised late on for the Premier League side but a Paddy Amond penalty three minutes later ensured safe passage for Newport into the next round.
Leicester’s starting XI was weakened, but not considerably; Shinji Okazaki, Marc Albrighton, Kelechi Iheanacho, Jonny Evans and captain Wes Morgan were all included from the off, which should serve as a warning to Newcastle.
Newport 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur (2017/18)
To suggest that Newport have had a better domestic cup record than Newcastle in recent years would not be much of a stretch.
Holding Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs to a 1-1 draw in 2018 will go down as one of the club’s most memorable results in recent history due to the magnitude of their opponent.
Unsurprisingly, it was Amond again who fired Newport in front at Rodney Parade, before a late Harry Kane equaliser broke their hearts. Newport faced a strong Spurs side, consisting of captain Harry Kane, Jan Vertonghen, Eric Dier, Moussa Sissoko and Mousa Dembele.
Newport 2-1 Leeds United (2017/18)
Another home win against opposition two tiers above them came in the round prior to their draw with Spurs, against Leeds.
A late turnaround and a last-minute header sealed the victory for Newport against a Leeds side which looks unrecognisable to the outfit currently thriving under Marcelo Bielsa.
Having said that, Thomas Christiansen’s side were worthy adversaries. Current club captain Liam Cooper featured, while Kalvin Phillips and Mateusz Klich played in midfield.
