County gave it all they had and United definitely seemed out of the depth throughout the match. Bruno Fernandes scored the opening goal in the 7th minute at Rodney Parade which gave Manchester United the confi dence to go 2-0 up with the young superstar Kobbi Mainoo scoring the second goal in the 13th minute. Manchester United’s first goalkeeper André Onana was away on international duty at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) and therefore missed the fixture so the reserve goalkeeper Altay Bayinder had to step up. Unfortunately, he was not in best form his passes were dispossessed and the back line was open at times giving Newport County the perfect opportunity to score just before half time with Bryn Morris scoring in the 36th minute bringing the score to 2-1. Newport
County’s fans were right behind them it did not take long for them to equalise after the second half whistle blew it took two minutes into the second half for the exiles to score bringing the score to 2-2. Cardiff Metropolitans fi nest Will Evans striking a beauty into the back of the net and his celebration was as cold as his goal. I am sure Chelsea’s Cole Palmer would have been happy seeing Evans using his celebration. United’s Alejandro Garnacho had a very selfish performance a lot of the time he went for a goal when a simple square or cross to his unmarked teammates would have easily given Manchester United the lead. It was a very tense twenty minutes until Antony stepped up to the plate and scored in the 68th minute giving United the crucial 3-2 lead. Manchester United looked more confident on the ball and essentially parked the bus the defense was like a brick wall. A counterattack gave Rasmus Højlund a 90+4-minute goal sealing United’s victory 4-2. A sold-out Rodney Parade with 9,086 fans in attendance is a victory in itself.
The FA Cup Replays are as follows:
Coventry v Sheffield Wednesday
Plymouth v Leeds
Southampton v Watford
Nottingham Forest v Bristol City
Aston Villa v Chelsea
With all the fifth-round fixtures being played on Wednesday 28th February 19:45 KO. Manchester United will play an away fixture against Premier League side Nottingham Forest or Championship side Bristol City depending on the replay result. The robins have already caused a severe upset in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup competition knocking out UEFA European Conference League (UECL) champions West Ham United after winning their third-round replay 1-0 at Ashton Gate. Of course, if Bristol City do play Manchester United in the fifth round it would be an incredible fixture especially as Bristol City have previously sent Manchester United packing in the 2017 Carabao Cup quarter-final with a 90+3 minute winning goal securing the robins a 2-1 win over the red devils. Fingers crossed that the robins pull though for the must-see match fifth round fixture.