THE prospect of taking on Premier League champions Manchester City in the fifth round could not have seemed further away for Newport County AFC as they began their FA Cup journey at Imber Court - the home of Metropolitan Police FC.

The first-round tie against the Southern League Premier Division South minnows was played in torrential rain and a huge away following from Newport swelled the crowd to 1,137.

The travelling fans saw their team create plenty of chances but they put away only two of them as Padraig Amond and Jamille Matt both found the net either side of half-time to ease County into round two.

The draw threw up an intriguing all-Welsh clash with National League promotion hopefuls Wrexham, who were keen to gain revenge for their defeat to the Exiles in the 2013 play-off final.

The match was selected for live coverage by BT Sport but the Saturday night showdown in north Wales turned out to be a dour stalemate with Michael Flynn’s men thankful to goalkeeper Joe Day for some fine saves to keep them in the cup.

Wrexham boss Sam Ricketts departed for League One Shrewsbury Town before the replay at Rodney Parade and an early red card for Luke Young made it a one-sided affair.

Second-half strikes from Amond, Matt, Dan Butler and an own goal sealed a 4-0 win and a home tie against 2016 Premier League winners Leicester City.

And the BBC Match of the Day cameras came to Newport to witness a famous upset as an early Matt header put County on the road to victory.

Rachid Ghezzal levelled on 82 minutes, but a handball by Marc Albrighton allowed Amond to seal a 2-1 win from the spot.

That moment that was later immortalised in a special Roy of the Rovers comic strip, and there were more heroics in the fourth round at Middlesbrough.

Trailing 1-0, County looked to be down and out at the Riverside Stadium. But former Boro boy Matty Dolan came off the bench to force a replay with almost the last kick of the game.

And the Championship club’s Newport-born boss Tony Pulis endured a miserable return home last week as Robbie Willmott put County ahead and Amond kept up his record of scoring in every round to send Boro packing.