This Tuesday, we welcome League One Charlton Athletic to Rodney Parade in what promises to be another exciting Carabao Cup encounter. The competition always provides an excellent chance to build some early momentum, and the first round is one that has been particularly kind to us in recent years.
In the ten years since we returned to the Football League, we have had several memorable cup runs in the EFL Cup. We’ve dusted off some classic opening-round games from the Newport County vaults to help get you in the mood for Tuesday’s big match.
Luton Town 2-3 Newport County - 2022/23
Luton Town might have finished last season with a Wembley win, but we stopped any hope they had of EFL Cup success by picking up a memorable first-round win on their home turf.
Kenilworth Road is never an easy place to go, especially on a Tuesday night, but James Rowberry’s men were not going to let that stop them. The Exiles gritted their teeth and fought back from behind twice, with goals from Lewis Collins and Chanka Zimba cancelling out strikes from Carlos Mendes Gomes and Tom Lockyer.
This set the stage perfectly for a 76th-minute strike from James Waite. After some nice build-up play, the Welshmen positioned himself in the centre of the box and struck the ball low into the net to seal our place in the second round and send the 207 travelling fans back to Wales happy.
Ipswich Town 0-1 Newport County - 2021/22
The last time we met a League One side in the opening round of the EFL Cup was when we made the trip to Portman Road to face Ipswich Town in August 2021.
Timmy Abraham grabbed the goal in the fourth minute that would ultimately hand us the victory, but Nick Towsend was the star of the show. The likes of Armando Dobra, Kayden Jackson and Macauley Bonne were thwarted by the shot-stopper throughout the match, with his performance helping us seal our place in the second round.
Newport County 2-0 Swansea City - 2020/21
It is a great shame that no Exiles were in attendance to witness our victory over Swansea in September 2020, but that doesn’t detract from what was a fantastic performance and an iconic result.
A first-half double from Tristan Abrahams was enough for us to seal a victory over the Swans in what was an early indication of the kind of exciting performances we came to expect from the team during the 2020/21 campaign.
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-3 Newport County - 2013
Our first league cup game in over 25 years was one for the ages as we picked up a dramatic extra-time victory over then Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion.
Ashley Barnes grabbed the opener for the home side in the 18th minute, but this was cancelled out in the 81st minute by substitute Danny Crow. Crow had his scoring boots on that day, and he grabbed a second in the fourth minute of extra time. Connor Washington would then round out the win with a third in the 103rd minute, capping off an extraordinary night on the South Coast.
