FA Cup

NEWPORT boss Graham Coughlan has told his Manchester United-fanatic family: “Support me or I’m locking you out of the house.”The Welsh team face the biggest game in their history when they host Erik ten Hag’s men at Rodney Parade in a classic David and Goliath fourth-round FA Cup tie.
Graham Coughlan is preparing Newport for their biggest-ever game
But Irishman Coughlan, 49, has been a lifelong United fan along with most of his family.
Yet tomorrow he expects them all to be cheering on his League Two minnows – and said: “My daughter will be supporting me and the wife better be supporting me – or else she’s out the door.
“My dad and my mum will be over, and they’ll obviously be hoping I do well.
“I don’t think there’ll be any split loyalties – I’ll lock the door on them on Sunday night if they’re supporting anyone other than me.” 
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Although the League Two club have beaten Leicester and pushed Tottenham and Man City all the way on home turf in recent years, facing United is in a whole new stratosphere – especially for Coughlan.
He said: “I was at the League Cup final with the kids last year and they gave me one of the best nights of my life in ’99 in Barcelona – I watched that in Dublin.
“I saw them win the FA Cup in 85, I was there when Liverpool beat them in the League Cup in 84 as well.
“There’s so many. My missus will always accompany me when the big games come around, the kids come with me for the league games.
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“I followed United years ago when they couldn’t win an argument, let alone a game! It was tough being a United fan at that time because Liverpool were dominating and I used to get battered every day in school.
“But they soon turned that around. They’re going through a similar period now and they will come through it, I have no doubt.”
Newport, who sit 14th in the fourth tier, have added extra seats to boost their capacity to just under 10,000 for the visit of United and Coughlan says the atmosphere will be red hot.
He said: “Irrespective this season whether we’ve been winning, losing or drawing, our fans have got right behind us and at times dragged us over the line.
“That’s unique and a strength of this football club and community.
“You can hear everything on the touchline, sometimes you don’t want to, because they’re that close. They’re on top of you and it’s a unique atmosphere.
“It is hostile, it is noisy, and when they start beating that drum it’s an atmosphere to savour.”
Coughlan watched on from Dublin as his beloved Manchester United celebrated completing the Treble in Barcelona in 1999
Newport will face a struggling Erik ten Hag side that are a different outfit to the ones Coughlan grew up watchingCredit: Getty More

EMI MARTINEZ produced a world class performance between the sticks but should not expect a pat on the back from Villa boss Unai Emery.His one-man shut out mission means these two Premier League sides must go through it all again in a fourth round replay in Birmingham the week after next.
Chelsea and Aston Villa face an FA Cup replay after a 0-0 draw at Stamford BridgeCredit: AP
Both sides had plenty of chances but neither could find a breakthroughCredit: Getty
Emery can say all he likes in public about his Villa keeper’s Man of the Match display – in private he will be as frustrated as Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino over a repeat performance.
Cup replays are seen as a necessary evil in the days where Premier League points mean so much more than the sideshow of the FA Cup, which is sad.
But politics aside, Martinez succeeded in his personal quest to keep a steadily improving Chelsea team at bay with a show of bravery and reaction that is key to Villa’s impressive longevity this season.
They will be favourites to go through in the return at Villa Park for sure.
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At least half a dozen times the Argentine World Cup winner was on hand, on foot, in fact on every part of his anatomy to block the way to goal on a night when his team was under the cosh for long periods.
For Chelsea, the euphoria of reaching the Carabao Cup final on Tuesday has given them a vast injection of self-confidence,
However, they were made to work much harder last night than against Championship Middlesbrough in midweek when they ran in six goals.
At least both managers gave the Cup its due respect by fielding strong line ups. 
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Chelsea in particular could have used Tuesday’s semi final second leg as an excuse to roll out the B-listers.
In a much-needed boost for Pochettino he was also able to welcome back Beniot Badiashile from injury for his first game since December 27.
But as ever with Chelsea these days, it was one step forwards and one back as his defensive team-mate Levi Colwill got injured in the warm up. 
That meant a last-minute swap with rookie right-sided defender Alfie Gilchrist starting his second successive Cup game.
In turn Badiashile shuffled along and slotted in as emergency left back in Colwill’s absence, even though Ben Chilwell was on the bench.
Chelsea and Villa left everything on the pitchCredit: PA
There were big saves at both endsCredit: AFP
If that left the home side’s defence in a muddle, it certainly showed when Villa took what they thought was the justified lead in the 12th minute.
A downward barrelling header from Youri Tielemans inside the six yard box was punched over the bar by Chelsea keeper Djordje Petrovic.
From the corner Douglas Luiz and John McGinn worked a neat trick to switch places and work the ball swiftly to the edge of the box with Chelsea’s defenders off guard.
A curling shot by Moussa Diaby cannoned off the head of young Gilchrist and into the path of Luiz who merely had to bundle the ball over the line.
Only VAR saw otherwise and after a thirty second check scrubbed out Villa’s brief lead.
Emi Martinez had a fine game between the sticksCredit: AFP
Ben Chilwell made another appearance after returning from injuryCredit: AFP
The let off sparked a reaction from Chelsea, who upped a gear or two going forwards to put Villa under pressure for most of the first half after that.
But with two successive clean sheets, Villa keeper Martinez is in buoyant mood and was in no mood to give up his run of form easily.
In the first half alone he threw his legs in the way of a shot by Noni Madueke from point blank range. Moments later he denied the normally precise Cole Palmer from putting Chesea ahead.
Madueke was frustrated again on the half hour mark with what would have been the best move and goal of the night.
Raheem Sterling and Palmer combined on the left with the latter cutting the ball back from the by-line straight into the path of his England youth team pal.
Mauricio Pochettino now faces a tough visit to Villa ParkCredit: Rex
Unai Emery will be hoping his side can do the business at homeCredit: Alamy
But Madueke was thwarted once more when Martinez plonked his sizeable frame in the path of the resultant shot to keep Villa on level terms once more.
And the South American wasn’t finished there. Grabbing a dangerous cross from Gallagher out on the right prevented a dangerous situation and he dived bravely at the feet of the advancing Sterling two minutes before the break.
And when Chelsea threw the big boys up front with Badiashile climbing to power a header towards goal from inside six yards, Villa’s last man was there again to see off the threat.
Even when a mistake came in the second half – and it was a biggy – Lady Luck was smiling on Martinez.
His attempted clearance from goal failed to achieve lift off and the ball smacked into the back of unsuspecting Palmer.
When gravity brought it earthwards, Pochettino’s £40m player tried to side-foot volley his shot and it ended up trickling harmlessly through to the grateful Villa stopper.
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Matinez was also at his sharpest seven minutes from time when an underhit back pass by Boubacar Kamara put Conor Gallagher clean through but Martinez showed nifty footwork to beat him to the ball and hoof it clear.
When Villa did threaten they found Chelsea keeper Djordje Petrovic in almost as good form as Martinez at the other end. The Serb’s best effort was blocking a powerful shot by Matty Cash. More

NONI Madueke sparked bizarre scenes during Chelsea’s clash with Aston Villa.The Blues welcomed Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup fourth round.
Noni Madueke was forced into a change of boots after bringing Chelsea’s clash to a haltCredit: Voetbal
There were initially injury fears when he went down clutching his footCredit: Voetbal
The two teams battled out a goalless first half, but the action came to a standstill shortly after the break due to a wardrobe malfunction.
Madueke was spotted on the turf calling to the bench while holding his left boot in the 56th minute.
However, despite fears that the 21-year-old winger had suffered an injury, it was due to a much more stranger problem.
It emerged that one of the England U21 international’s boots had in fact broken.
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And that left Chelsea staff scrambling to quickly bring him a new pair in order for him to return to action as play continued while he sorted out his issue.
The sight of him changing his footwear was actually a welcome relief to both boss Mauricio Pochettino and fans amid their initial injury concerns.
That was after they suffered a huge blow in the warm-up to the game.
Poch was forced into a late reshuffle against Villa after Levi Colwill hurt himself before kick-off.
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The defender had been named left-back in the starting XI but pulled up and was later spotted limping down the tunnel.
Despite having Ben Chilwell on the bench, he instead opted to draft in highly-rated youngster Alfie Gilchrist.
Chelsea will now be sweating over Colwill’s fitness ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Liverpool. More

TOTTENHAM’S FA Cup clash with Manchester City was halted in the first half due to technical problems.The match stopped for at least three minutes when the linesman appeared to have problems with his battery pack.
Tottenham vs Man City was delayed for over three minutes due to an issue with the referee’s battery packCredit: Reuters
A member of staff had to replace the official’s equipmentCredit: Getty
The whole incident delayed the game by over three minutesCredit: ITV SPORT
Fans and players were left waiting while the issue was resolved and those watching on from home grew frustrated.
One wrote: “Technology is killing football. Waiting five minutes to fix a linesman’s earpiece. Just get on with the game!!”
While another added: “Watch a hamstring injury now occur because players have cooled down whilst waiting for the linesman!”
A third chimed in, writing: “Another modern era footballing disease! Stopping games because the referee and linesman’s communications don’t work. Just use your eyes!”
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And a fourth wrote: “Is this palaver really necessary? Can’t the linesman just use his flag?
While one fan joked that the linesman was looking for a break from what was an uneventful first half.
They wrote: “Can’t blame the linesman for bunking off, he must be as bored as the rest of us.”
The first half came to an end with the game scoreless.
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There was little for fans of either team to get excited about with just two shots on target in the first 45 minutes.
But despite the uneventful half the referee’s delay contributed to over six minutes of added time.
The game stayed goalless for much of the game too until the deadlock was broken by Nathan Ake in the 88th minute.
The City defender did just enough to put his side through to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 1-0 victory.
The result means Tottenham exit another competition with a Premier League long-shot their only remaining chance at silverware this season. More

TIMMY ABRAHAM is making his own way in football out of the shadow of older brother Tammy.The Maidstone striker, 23, joined the club on loan from Boreham Wood in December in a deal which runs until the end of this month.
Timmy Abraham will be cheering on FA Cup minnows Maidstone this weekendCredit: Splash
He is the younger brother of former Chelsea striker Tammy AbrahamCredit: Instagram
He will now be cheering his current side on as they face Championship promotion chasers Ipswich in the FA Cup on Saturday.
The Stones are the lowest-ranked side left in this season’s tournament after beating Chesham, Barrow and Stevenage in the competition proper.
Although Abraham is cup-tied, after playing in Boreham Wood’s first round loss to Eastleigh, he will be hoping Maidstone can pull off another upset.
The National League South side are managed by ex-Wolves defender George Elokobi.
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He swooped in December to sign Abraham on loan from Boreham Wood, who he had joined in the summer.
Abraham has since made seven appearances for Maidstone but is yet to score.
Whilst older brother Tammy came through Chelsea’s famed academy, Timmy began his career with Charlton before joining London rivals Fulham aged 16.
He went on to have loan spells with Bristol Rovers, Plymouth, Raith Rovers and Newport, before joining Walsall in 2022.
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Meanwhile, his older brother won the Champions League with the Blues before moving to Italian giants Roma, where he currently plays.
He has also won 11 caps for England, scoring three goals for the Three Lions.
Abraham joined Maidstone on loan from Boreham Wood in DecemberCredit: Splash
Older brother Tammy has scored three goals in 11 caps for EnglandCredit: Getty More