Tottenham’s Érik Lamela breaks goal drought to end Newport’s FA Cup run

Mauricio Pochettino is sick and tired of being told he needs to win a trophy with Tottenham but the route to glory in the FA Cup appears to have opened up. This routine dismissal of Newport County has set up a visit to Rochdale on Sunday week and, if his players can negotiate the treacherous surface at Spotland, they could find themselves in the quarter-finals.

Tottenham got past AFC Wimbledon – the team who are 19th in League One – in the third round, while Rochdale are second from bottom in that division. Never before have Tottenham had a more straightforward route to the competition’s last eight. Pochettino would never admit it but he has to hear the knock of opportunity.

Michael Flynn had said victory for Newport would be “the biggest result in the club’s history”. For context, Newport – 11th in League Two, five points shy of the play-offs – had won only one of their seven FA Cup ties away to top-flight opposition, against Huddersfield in 1949.

The upset was never on, despite Newport – in Flynn’s words and the view of most neutrals – being the “better team in the first 25 minutes”. Tottenham enjoyed a stroke of fortune on the opening goal, when Moussa Sissoko’s cross flicked off Dan Butler to wrong-foot the goalkeeper, Joe Day. But they turned the screw thereafter.

Érik Lamela got the second and it was a nice moment for him after all of his injury misery. The Argentinian returned at the end of October after 13 months out with hip problems and it was his first goal since September 2016. Pochettino played him in the No 10 role and he was the pick of the Spurs team, together with Son Heung-min.

The only surprise was Tottenham did not add to their lead. They had the chances. Fernando Llorente was twice off-target when gloriously placed while Dele Alli, who was barracked by the travelling fans, ran through only to hit the crossbar. Having come on as a substitute, he also worked Day with a shot.

Newport had been eight minutes from victory at Rodney Parade – Harry Kane’s equaliser saved Tottenham – but a Wembley replay was hardly a booby prize, particularly not for the club’s accountants. According to the most recent accounts, their annual turnover was £2.2m. Thanks to this FA Cup run, they have made £700,000.

Mindful of Pochettino’s determination to get his team to play out from the back, Flynn asked his players to press high at the outset and the tactic almost yielded reward. Joss Labadie read Juan Foyth’s weak pass out to Victor Wanyama and he stepped in to win the ball. For a second, a run on goal appeared to open up for the Newport captain only for Wanyama to cut him down. Flynn wondered whether Labadie might have ridden the challenge and got a shot away. Wanyama was booked.

The own goal deflated Newport and Flynn said it took them 10 minutes to recover. By then, Lamela had scored and the game was over. The goal had been advertised. Lamela and Son worked Day in the same attack while Son dragged a shot wide of the near post. Son provided the assist, slicing in from the flank to pick out Lamela but he still had plenty to do.

Lamela’s close control on the run was excellent, two touches creating the angle for the shot, and he guided it low and left-footed past Day. Wanyama needed to stretch into a saving challenge on Labadie in the 41st minute following Frank Nouble’s cross but Newport’s threat was minimal.

Pochettino had made wholesale changes with Saturday’s home derby against Arsenal in mind and he welcomed back a trio of players from injury – Toby Alderweireld, Danny Rose and Harry Winks. It appeared they came through unscathed. Pochettino now has a fully-fit squad.

Newport had lost at Lincoln City and Colchester United since the original tie and it felt as though they were saving everything for Wembley. They left nothing on the pitch. Tottenham hogged possession and they made them work but Newport did not flag – even if Flynn jokingly wished Pochettino had not introduced Christian Eriksen and Alli as second-half substitutes.

Newport’s vociferous support deserved a goal and it almost came in stoppage time when Padraig Amond found space for a shot inside the area. He was thwarted by Michel Vorm.

Profligacy was the theme of the second half. Only Llorente knows how he did not score while Lamela and Eriksen spurned other openings.