Johnny On The Spot:
#COMBATIVE. Manchester City’s run of 4 games across 4 different competitions inside 14 days arrived at phase 2 tonight with a tricky FA Cup assignment at Newport.
This cup-tie was never going to be played out on easy street. The pitch had seen 60 football and rugby games so far this season and it showed. Michael Flynn’s approach was simple. Defend any which way and look to turn the City defenders at every opportunity. Understandably, City took half an hour to get going on the dreadful surface. The Welsh side proved game opponents in the first half despite only registering 46 passes. City had been unsettled in midfield and were unable to pass and move with their usual customary ease. However, you got the feeling that if we could avoid conceding any freak set pieces , then the Blues would need to rely upon a more direct approach to score the opening goal that would take the wind out of Newport’s sails. I would suggest that Pep Guardiola had figured that by sending Leroy Sané and Gabriel Jesus up high for Ederson’s booming kicks.
And so it came to pass. Full marks to City for digging deep, rolling their collective sleeves up and adapting their game to the situation. The longer the game wore on, the more it was apparent that the English champions had done their homework. The direct pace and power of Sané broke Welsh hearts and then the Stockport Iniesta broke their backs with two fine solo goals, the second snuffing out the late gift City’s defenders had offered up to the home side. Riyad Mahrez, industrious if still unconvincing, was rewarded at the death for his persistence with a goal that better reflected the gulf in footballing talent.
Pep has forged a tremendous will to win right through the core of his superbly drilled Manchester City squad and they fly to Germany on Tuesday in great spirits. We are approaching the business end of the season and this increasingly versatile side could yet realise the astonishing achievements that last season’s records threatened.
JB’s Man of The Match: Philip Foden. Composed and confident.
Rodney Parade, Wales
FA Cup Fifth Round
5:30 pm
Attendance: 9, 680
Referee: Andre Marriner of The West Midlands
| Newport County | Manchester City | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amond (88') | Sané (51'), Foden (75', 89'), Mahrez (90'+4) | ||||||
| 1 Joe Day | 31 Ederson | ||||||
| 26 Regan Poole | 3 Danilo | ||||||
| 28 Mickey Demetriou | 5 John Stones | ||||||
| 25 Mark O'Brien | 30 Nicolas Otamendi | ||||||
| 7 Robbie Willmott | 35 Oleks Zinchenko | ||||||
| 17 Scott Bennett | Franks 86' | 47 Philip Foden | |||||
| 4 Joss Labadie | Dolan 68' | 25 Fernandinho | Laporte 79' | ||||
| 15 Tyreeq Bakinson | Sheehan 61' | 21 David Silva | Gündogan 82' | ||||
| 3 Dan Butler | 26 Riyad Mahrez | ||||||
| 11 Jamille Matt | 33 Gabriel Jesus | ||||||
| 9 Padraig Amond | 19 Leroy Sané | ||||||
Substitutes |
|||||||
| 2 David Pipe | 2 Kyle Walker | ||||||
| 5 Fraser Franks | 7 Raheem Sterling | ||||||
| 8 Matt Dolan | 8 Ilkay Gündogan | ||||||
| 10 Keanu Marsh-Brown | 14 Aymeric Laporte | ||||||
| 16 Josh Sheehan | 17 Kevin De Bruyne | ||||||
| 27 Harry McKirdy | 20 Bernardo Silva | ||||||
| 30 Nick Townsend | 49 Aro Muric | ||||||
Game Statistics |
||
| 9 | Goal attempts | 21 |
| 3 | On Target | 9 |
| 2 | Corners | 7 |
| 2 | Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Yellow Cards | 0 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 23 | % | 77 |