The Third Division team that almost won a European Cup - New
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
- Welcome to the ultimate underdog story that most football fans have never heard of. Newport County made it to the European Cup Winners cup in 1981, as a result of winning the Welsh Cup. With crowd attendance soaring, record fees being paid and European football, it did not look possible that things could go so wrong for Newport. Going out of business only 8 years after this fairytale story, the phoenix club now plays in the English 4th division. The very same league our story begins in.
It’s 1980 and Newport County are heading into the second leg of the Welsh Cup. Newport have already won promotion to the English fourth division for the first time since 1939 from, thanks to a Tommy Tynan brace in a 4-2 victory. They go into the second leg already ahead 2-1 on aggregate. All they need is a draw and they have qualified for Europe.
Tynan nets early in the first half, with Lowndes and Gwyther also scoring. Newport have done it, they have won their first Welsh cup and are heading to Europe.
Only 4 years earlier, Newport had nearly gone bankrupt and had finished 22nd in a 24 team 4th division.
A glance at the Fourth Division table going into the final match of the season shows Newport's predicament. Under the management of Colin Addison since January, the team had been revived, but a defeat in their final home game against Workington would have meant relegation.
Newport's 1-0 win, their fifth successive victory, completed the great escape, and for the next few seasons, the club moved in the right direction. This is the time for heroes.
They were drawn against Haugar FC and Crusaders from Northern Ireland in the cup, before eventually drawing Carl Zeiss Jena in the Quarter Final
How does this only have 100 views? Interesting video, deserves a lot more.
Thank you! I thought it was a super interesting story that I thought more people should know about
Ikr
Just one point - there was no "relegation zone' at the bottom of the Fourth Division in those days, if you finished in the bottom four you had to go up for re-election where the other 91 clubs would decide whether you retained your place in the League. Newport would certainly have won re-election and retained their place in the Fourth Division even if they had lost their final match.
Wrong …re-election had gone by that year . Bottom 4 meant relegation..I was there pal.
This was amazing
Great video...saw Carl Zeiss Jena play my club west brom 2yrs earlier and they looked good then...that save by Hans Ullrich Grapenthin at the end is in my opinion one of the greatest saves I've ever seen!!!
Very interesting