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Tottenham vs Newport County – F.A. Cup Preview

With the North London derby on the horizon this is not a fixture that Mauricio Pochettino will be too keen on having to plan for but without it Tottenham would have been dumped out of the F.A. Cup at the hands of League Two Newport County.

Tonight they get a second bite at the cherry as Wembley plays host to the replay while manager and players alike know that they cannot afford not to get the job done this time around, should their cup exploits end this evening then with that goes their most realistic hope of a trophy this season.

With Arsenal on the horizon it does mean that the team that drew with Liverpool and beat Manchester United in recent times will be changed, the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli may well be rested and wrapped up in cotton wool for the weekend.

That is not to say they can take Newport lightly though as it was that attitude that got them into this very situation, it needed a late Harry Kane leveler to stop Tottenham making the headlines for all the wrong reasons 10 days ago and although the Welsh side missed out on their perfect opportunity they will still be celebrating.

That is because of the financial windfall that has been afforded to them after managing to earn a replay, of course they would have loved to have gone through at the first time attempt but the fact that this additional revenue will keep this club afloat for at least another 2-3 seasons will draw few complaints from everyone connected with the club.

Tottenham had a sluggish start against Newport and it was the same against Liverpool last Sunday, but as slow as they got out of the blocks at Anfield they certainly finished strong, it was a case of what might have been though after Harry Kane’s missed penalty.

That should take nothing away though from the team’s second half performance in what can only be described as an absolute roller coaster of emotion, it could have been no points, it should have been three but at the end I think a draw was just about the right result.

It was a game mired in penalty controversy but Tottenham fans will be smiling that both decisions landed in their favour, whether that means Spurs have used up all their luck remains to be seen especially if you use the adage ‘it all balances out in the end’

But that is a case of what might be around the corner, tonight is the here and now. A trip to Rochdale awaits the winner and although Spurs will need two attempts to get to Spotland I cannot see anything other than a home win this time around.

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