Exiles to reinforce cup pedigree at Rodney Parade
Highly rated gaffer Michael Flynn’s Newport County cup warriors face Grimsby Town in an FA Cup replay at Rodney Parade following a 1-1 draw by the North East coast on November 9. Given the Exiles’ recent cup pedigree they should be strong favourites for this knockout clash on home soil in their bid to recover from a poor run of form in the league that has seen them fall out of the playoff places. Grimsby similarly are in desperate shape in League Two having not won a match in all competitions since September leading to the club parting company with Michael Jolley last week.
Exiles’ recent cup success
Newport’s cup triumph has given them a lot more financial room for manoeuvre, changing their trajectory from an expected yearly loss of £350,000 in 2018 to a profit of just under £83,000, giving them the scope to compete at the forefront of League Two for the past two seasons. They made the fourth round in 2017/18 earning a money-spinning tie with Tottenham Hotspur to which they were able to take to a replay at Wembley Stadium. Incredibly topping that achievement last term in reaching the fifth round beating Leicester City and Middlesbroughto secure a Rodney Parade showdown with champions elect Manchester City.
Key men
Summer signing Tristan Abrahams from Norwich Cityhas bolstered Flynn’s attacking contingent this campaign having spent last season on loan at relegated Yeovil Town. The 20-year-old has eight goals already including a red hot hattrick against promotion pushing Cheltenham Town in the Leasing.com Trophy last time out. In tandem with lower league expert forward Padraig Amond they could be too much for the Marinersbackline to handle on Wednesday evening.
Another experienced striker is Grimsby’s best hope of a victory, in the form of League Cup finalist James Hanson. The ex-Bradford City marksman has found the net five times in the league this campaign which is two more than his teammate Ethan Robson who is their second most prolific, his aerial presence will be a lot for usually defensively sound Newport. The Exiles boast the second-best defensive record in the English fourth tier. Recently switching to a three at the back formation they should be solid enough to snuff out the problems caused by the Mariners’ frontline.
Considering their recent cup runs Newport are an excellent price to get past the struggling seasiders in this first round replay and get back on track at Rodney Parade.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
Padraig Amond and Joss Labadie sent 10-man Grimsby out of the FA Cup in a momentum building 2-0 win for the Exiles.