Graham Potter relieved after Brighton’s ‘traumatic’ FA Cup win over Newport County which saw Seagulls keeper Jason Steele make four saves in penalty shootout to see off League Two opponents at Rodney Parade
- Graham Potter is a relieved man after Brighton’s FA Cup win over Newport
- The Seagulls boss called their third-round victory over Newport as ‘traumatic’
- The two sides played out a 1-1 draw following two very late goals in normal time
- They couldn’t be separated after extra time and went to a penalty shootout
- Jason Steele went from zero to hero by making four saves in the shootout win
Graham Potter breathed a huge sigh of relief after describing Brighton’s FA Cup penalty shootout win over League Two Newport as ‘traumatic’.
Brighton beat Newport 4-3 on penalties after 120 minutes of football on a difficult Rodney Parade surface had produced a 1-1 draw.
Seagulls goalkeeper Jason Steele made four saves in the shootout before defender Adam Webster – who had scored an unfortunate own goal in the final seconds of normal time – stroked home the decisive penalty.
Graham Potter described Brighton’s FA Cup third-round win over Newport as ‘traumatic’
The Brighton boss talks with Newport’s Matt Dolan (left) after the FA Cup tie at Rodney Parade
‘Traumatic as well as dramatic is what I’d call it,’ Brighton manager Potter said.
‘Newport showed all their battling qualities and full credit to them for that.
‘We knew it was going to be a difficult tie and they didn’t disappoint us.
‘We should have won it and seen it out at the end of 90 minutes, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.’
Solly March put Brighton ahead from the edge of the area with the clock counting down to 90 minutes and only 10 seconds of normal time remaining.
The Seagulls had to beat the League Two side on penalties following a nervy affair on Sunday
Brighton’s Jason Steele made four excellent saves in the dramatic penalty shootout
Newport battled brilliantly, with their defence staying solid throughout in the tight clash
But Newport levelled in the sixth minute of stoppage time when Steele let Liam Shephard’s cross slip through his grasp and Webster could not get out of the way.
Steele was making only his fourth appearance of the season and looked as if he would be the Brighton villain, but he was ultimately the shoot-out hero.
‘If a goalkeeper makes four penalty saves and you don’t get through then I would have been scratching my head a little bit,’ Potter said.
‘But I’m pleased for Jason because he’s been fantastic for us. He’s supported the players when he’s not been in the team.
‘He’ll be disappointed with the goal but I thought he did really well.’
Steele had missed a punch in the final seconds of normal time to allow Newport to equalise
The Exiles were themselves indebted to some fine goalkeeping from Tom King, who has spent most of the season on the bench with Nick Townsend the County number one.
King made superb saves to deny Andy Zeqiri and Lewis Dunk and produced two saves in the shoot-out himself to give Newport hope of another cup upset.
But Padraig Amond failed to take two chances which could have seen Newport – who are currently second in League Two – repeat their FA Cup wins over Leeds, Leicester and Middlesbrough in recent seasons.
Manager Michael Flynn said: ‘I’m really proud, the work rate was exceptional.
Exiles keeper Tom King had a stunning game too, making several huge saves for Newport
Brighton thought they’d won it with Solly March’s strike in the 90th minute before more drama
‘They stuck together and we’ve taken another Premier League team to penalties.
‘We practice penalties and we didn’t miss one. It’s a little frustrating, but we’ve got to give their goalkeeper some credit as well.
‘Two of those penalty saves were unbelievable, they were of the highest class.
‘We’ve got 26 games left, 26 cup finals, and we’ve got to make sure we’ve got something at the end of it after the promise we’ve shown.’