Newport County defeated Barnet 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw at The Hive to set up a first-round tie against Millwall in 2025-26 Carabao Cup.
Cameron Evans dispatched the winning penalty in a see-saw shootout which saw Barnet lead 2-1 after the first pair of penalties, before Joe Hugill and Kane Smith were denied as Ben Lloyd, Cameron Antwi and Bobby Kamwa dispatched the Exiles’ penalties following Ged Garner’s saved opening spot-kick.
Stunning first-half strikes from Cameron Antwi and Michael Reindorf put Newport on course for victory, until Ryan Galvin’s low shot and Rhys Browne’s equaliser saw Barnet snatch a 2-2 draw at the end of normal time to force the penalty shootout.
Newport will now host Millwall at Rodney Parade on Tuesday 12 August at 7:45pm BST, live on Sky Sports + in the UK.
With this being the first preliminary round tie since the 2011-12 edition in this competition, there weren’t many surprises at how scrappy the opening 21 minutes were until Barnet’s Joe Wright saved Matthew Smith’s low shot in Newport’s first notable attack of the match.
Barnet had been on top for much of the opening half-hour but lacked little quality whilst Ollie Kensdale made a crucial block to deny Newport a breakthrough goal in the 30th minute, as he prevented Michael Reindorf scoring on his competitive debut for the Exiles.
The subsequent corner was cleared but quickly recycled back into the box for Jenkins to nod across for Antwi to smash in a volley on his right foot to break the deadlock.
Barnet in response pushed for an equaliser before half time but struggled to carve out a notable chance, aside from Danny Collinge’s fumbled touch from inside the box from a cross.
Newport eventually punished Barnet’s continued wasteful end product in the 42nd minute after Reindorf picked up Davies’ pass up the left and cut in from 25 yards, which saw him find space to curl a dinking strike into the far top-right corner to extend the visitors’ lead.
Nik Tzanev protected the Exiles’ lead into half time after he saved a low shot from Zak Brunt who had intercepted a cleared throw-in.
Like the first half, Barnet enjoyed a lot of possession on the ball but Davies almost wrapped up victory for Newport as he fired over from Joe Thomas’ cross.
Idris Kanu looked like Barnet’s best hope of pulling a goal back but he forced a 58th-minute save from Tzanev at the right post, before Manchester United loanee, Hugill scruffed his attempt to follow up on the rebound.
Newport substitute, Kamwa came on in the 63rd minute and almost sealed the game seconds after his introduction as he met a forward ball, yet his shot was blocked by Wright.
Barnet substitute, Browne forced a 77th-minute save from Tzanev as the Bees frantically tried to force a late comeback.
Hope soon began to run out until Galvin turned in Kane Smith’s delivery from a corner in the 97th minute, which was followed two minutes later by Browne’s header from Kanu’s cross.
The shootout began with a miss from Garner before Dennis Adeniran fired Barnet into an early lead which Browne doubled after Ben Lloyd got Newport off the mark with their second spot-kick.
Antwi pulled Newport level with their third penalty and crucially level after Hugill missed Barnet’s third effort.
Kamwa moved Newport ahead but Smith’s miss allowed Evans to wrap up victory with Newport’s final penalty which he buried into the top left corner.
Teams
Barnet: Joe Wright, Idris Kanu, Danny Collinge (Galvin 81′), Adam Senior, Ryan Glover (High 67′), Ollie Kensdale, Emmanuel Osadebe (Adeniran 46′), Anthony Hartigan, Zak Brunt (Smith 67′), Joe Hugill, Mark Shelton (Browne 67′)
Substitutes: Dennis Adeniran, Rhys Browne, Romoney Crichlow-Noble, Owen Evans, Ryan Galvin, Scott High, Rohat Matyar, Nnamdi Ofoborh, Kane Smith
Newport: Nik Tzanev, Joe Thomas, Matt Baker, James Clarke, Lee Jenkins, Tom Davies (Glennon 72′), Matthew Smith (Cameron Evans 46′), Cameron Antwi, Ben Lloyd, Michael Reindorf (Kamwa 63′), Courtney Baker-Richardson (Garner 49′)
Substitutes: Moses Alexander-Walker, Anthony Glennon, Corey Evans, Cameron Evans, Ged Garner, Bobby Kamwa, Habeeb Ogunneye, Nelson Sanca, Jordan Wright
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