Strong Team But Not Strongest as Blues Face Newport in Carabao Cup Tuesday, 10th Aug 2021 13:59 Town boss Paul Cook will make changes to his team as the Blues host League Two Newport County in round one of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night. Cook outlined his approach to cup games at the Fans’ Forum at the end of July and said he planned to field a very strong but perhaps not his strongest team. “I think if you look at the league campaigns now, we’re going to go into a 46-game campaign,” he said. “Even when I took over at Portsmouth it was very interesting, we go into great detail about the travelling away from home, the journeys on a coach, the recovery time for games, the in-depth analysis into performances is huge. “So from a manager’s point of view, this year we want to be promoted. There’s nothing else on our radar other than promotion. “That’s top of the list. The FA Cup then is very much second in the list. Historically it’s a great competition to be in. “I think as you fall, the Carabao Cup and the Papa John’s Trophy, I think you will see us make changes in those competitions due to the fact that we will prioritise the other competitions. “If you look at the Newport game, for example, we will have a very strong team out against Newport, but it mightn’t be the strongest team. “If we could get three points against Morecambe, three points at Burton and win at Cheltenham, for example, we’ll be top of the league, and we want to stay top of the league. “The reality is the league is unbelievably number one, FA Cup number two, Carabao Cup and then Papa John’s Trophy.” Asked following Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Morecambe whether new signings Sone Aluko and Louie Barry might be among those involved against the Exiles, he said: “One hundred per cent, we’ll get games into our players, 100 per cent,” he said. With Toto Nsiala having suffered a hamstring injury on Saturday which was due to be scanned today, Cook also hinted that young centre-half Corrie Ndaba could play a part. When asked about Nsiala’s injury, Cook said: “It’s football, isn’t it? It gives someone else an opportunity. We’ve got Corrie Ndaba at the club at the minute. We know what we need to do.” Tomas Holy could return in goal with Kane Vincent-Young probably continuing at right-back and Matt Penney on the left. Ndaba could be handed a start alongside either Luke Woolfenden or Janoi Donacien at the centre of the defence with George Edmundson unlikely to be available. In midfield, Cook is also limited in his central midfield options at present and current skipper Lee Evans and Rekeem Harper may again start. Aluko and Barry could be in line for the wide roles, while Armando Dobra will also be hoping for a start having impressed in pre-season, and Cook could start both Saturday’s sub strikers ,Macauley Bonne and James Norwood, as a pairing up front. Alternatively, he may be keen to get more minutes into the likes of Scott Fraser and Conor Chaplin, whose involvement in the Blues’ pre-season games was limited. Youngsters Cameron Humphreys and Matt Ward could be on the bench having featured for the first team in pre-season, along with Idris El Mizouni, who was among the subs on Saturday. New signing Kyle Edwards is not available for Tuesday’s game having signed after today's midday deadline.
If level at 90 minutes, the game will go straight to penalties with round two to be played in the week commencing August 23rd. Last season the Blues were knocked out in round two of the Carabao Cup after they were beaten 1-0 by Fulham at Portman Road having defeated Bristol Rovers 3-0 at home. Newport, who won 1-0 at Oldham in their opening League Two fixture on Saturday, are also likely to utilise their squad. Midfielder Matty Dolan is their only injury doubt having picked up a knock in the first half at Boundary Park. The Blues last met the Exiles in the second round of the League Cup in 1972 at their old ground Somerton Park when Town won 3-0, the only cup meeting between the teams. Aside from that they clubs met regularly in Division Three (South) in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Overall, the Blues have won 12 games between the sides and Newport nine with none ending in draws. Current Blues Lee Evans, Joe Pigott and Janoi Donacien have all played for the Exiles. Evans started his senior career at Rodney Parade during Newport’s time in what’s now the National League having joined their youth set-up from Bristol Rovers. Having broken into the team late in 2011/12, he established himself the following season and impressed enough to win a move to Wolves. In total, he made 21 starts and four sub appearances, scoring three times. Pigott had a spell on loan between September and November 2014, making six starts and five sub appearances, scoring three goals. Donacien was with the Exiles on loan in 2015/16 - during which time his manager for a spell was Blues legend Terry Butcher - making 26 starts and five sub appearances. The only former Town player in the Newport squad is Ed Upson, who joined them after leaving Bristol Rovers this summer.
Upson made two senior cup starts for the Blues in August 2009 but is best remembered at Town for netting the winning goal which secured Town the 2005 FA Youth Cup. The then-15-year-old midfielder netted in extra-time having come on as a sub to win the second leg at Portman Road 1-0 following a 2-2 draw at St Mary’s. Tuesday’s referee is Neil Hair from Cambridgeshire, who showed 82 yellow cards and two red in 21 games last season. Hair was most recently at Portman Road for the friendly against Crystal Palace last month in which the Eagles’ winning goal came via a penalty awarded for a foul by Vincent-Young on Wilfried Zaha. His last competitive Blues match was the 1-0 at Burton in January in which he booked Norwood, Luke Chambers and Andre Dozzell. Prior to that he as in charge of the Papa John’s Trophy tie at home to Arsenal’s U21s in September last year in which he booked Nolan and one of the visitors. He was also at Portman Road in August for the pre-season friendly against West Ham last summer and the 1-0 league defeat to Fleetwood at Portman Road in March last year in which he booked former skipper Chambers and one opposition player. Hair was also the man in the middle for the 1-1 home draw with Sunderland in August 2019 in which he yellow-carded Kayden Jackson and one Black Cat. Squad from: Holy, Hladky, Vincent-Young, Donacien, Penney, Woolfenden, Ndaba, Evans (c), Harper, Fraser, Burns, El Mizouni, Humphreys, Ward, Chaplin, Dobra, Aluko, Barry, Pigott, Bonne, Norwood.
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