Newport County FA Cup goal hero Padraig Amond relishing Manchester City test

Amond kept up his record of scoring in every round of this season’s FA Cup with a stunning strike as County shocked Championship bug guns Middlesbrough 2-0 at Rodney Parade on Tuesday night.

The win sealed a mouth-watering fifth-round tie at home to Pep Guardiola’s City – the reigning Premier League champions – on Saturday, February 16 (kick-off 5.30pm).

It also means that the Exiles have earned a minimum of £1.2m from this season’s run and around £2m over the past two campaigns, having beaten Leeds United, Leicester City and Boro and drawn with Tottenham Hotspur.

Amond’s goal, which followed Robbie Willmott’s opener, came from a perfectly-worked corner routine and the Irishman was quick to credit assistant manager Wayne Hatswell for the plan.

“I connected with it really well – it was as sweet as I’ve ever hit a football and thankfully it flew into the top corner,” said the 30-year-old, who was speaking to BBC Radio Wales.

“It was one of those that you work hard for in training. It was pre-worked. Wayne Hatswell drew up the corner and thankfully it was really well planned.

“When you’re the lesser team in a game like that you know that set-pieces could be your best chance of scoring so we work really hard on those.

“Wayne’s drawn up a few magical corners and it’ll be back to the drawing board for him to come up with some new ones for Mansfield this weekend and Man City after that.”

The Exiles return to League Two action as they host Mansfield Town this Saturday and MK Dons next Tuesday, but Amond is relishing the prospect of taking on City.

“It’s brilliant,” he said. “Every day I go into training and work as hard as I can for opportunities like this.

“You just hope that you’ll get your due rewards and everyone left everything on the pitch against Boro.

“We’ve shown we are a good side and it’s a great opportunity for us now to be able to welcome one of the best teams in Europe to our home ground. It’s a game we can really look forward to.

“But the most important thing is that we’ve made the club a lot of money and secured the future of the club.

“We won’t even think about it until after next Tuesday night, because we’ve got two league games before then.

“But there probably will be some sleepless nights.”

Can County cause another massive upset in front of the BT Sport cameras?

“It would have been a different story if it was at the Etihad Stadium but coming to Newport will be a tougher game for them,” said Amond.

“We’ll try our best and do everything we can.

“No one gave us a hope against Leicester or Middlesbrough, so hopefully we can cause another upset.

“But, whatever happens, we’ve secured the financial future of the club and it’s important that we just go out and enjoy the game and the occasion and the build-up.”

The County supporters’ ranks may well be swelled by a contingent from Ireland for the City game.

Ed Cahill, who runs Tully’s Bar in Amond’s native Carlow, offered free drinks to the regulars when his former schoolfriend scored against Boro.

And he’s planning to make the trip over the Irish Sea to lend his support next week.

“I’ve been looking at ferry crossings and I’m thinking of renting a bus, so we might be making a trip over to Rodney Parade ourselves,” said Cahill.

“I wouldn’t take tickets off the fans there in Newport who are going week in and week out.

“If we head over, we’ll find a friendly bar like Tully’s and set up camp for the day.”

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