It was a dramatic night at Barnet v Newport, as two screamers, and a late comeback sends the Carabao Cup tie to a penalty shootout.
The Preliminary Round fixture ended with Newport winning 4-2 on spot kicks over the EFL new boys. This round was introduced due to more Premier League clubs having European commitments.
Before hand, Cameron Antwi and Michael Reindorf produced some stunners, then, Barnet scored twice in stoppage time to make it 2-2, Ryan Galvin finding the net on 97 minutes before Rhys Brown levelled on the 99th, forcing penalties.
It came down to the shootout, goalkeeper Nik Tzanev emerged as the hero, saving Kane Smith’s spot-kick, before Cameron Evans converted the decisive penalty to secure Newport’s progression. They will now face Millwall in the First Round.
Barnet (4-3-3): J Wright; I Kanu, D Collinge (R Galvin, 81), A Senior, R Glover (K Smith, 67); O Kensdale, E Osadebe (D Adeniran, 46), A Hartigan; Z Brunt (S High, 67), J Hugill, M Shelton (R Browne, 67)
Subs not used: R Crichlow-Noble, O Evans, R Matyar, N Ofoborh, K Smith
Booked: I Kanu
Newport (3-5-2): N Tzanev; L Jenkins, J Clarke, M Baker; J Thomas, M Smith (C Evans, 46), C Antwi, B Lloyd, T Davies (A Glennon, 72); M Reindorf (B Kamwa, 63), C Baker-Richardson (G Garner, 49)
Subs not used: M Alexander-Walker, Corey Evans, H Ogunneye, N Sanca, J Wright
Booked: C Antwi, L Jenkins
Referee: D Drysdale
Attendance: 1,789 (278 Newport fans)
Barnet boss Dean Brennan expressed mixed emotions, while he praised his team’s bravery and persistence, highlighting their incredible late comeback, was frustrated with defensive lapses that led to Newport’s two goals, describing them as “rubbish defending” due to poor positioning and failure to prevent shots.
Brennan disagreed with fans calling Newport’s goals “worldies,” attributing them to defensive errors.
While disappointed with the loss, he noted the Carabao Cup isn’t a priority due to squad limitations, and the focus is on being more ruthless in upcoming EFL matches, starting with Fleetwood.
Newport boss David Hughes said, per South Wales Argus: “To be successful you’ve got to suffer at times, and we definitely had to suffer against a Barnet team who’ve got momentum having been promoted,” said the new Exiles boss.
“They won the [National] League with a real clarity in their style of play and they’re three or four years in the making to get to that style of play, which is really difficult to play against.
“I have to say, the resilience, the doggedness, the determination of the group [was impressive].
“The message before the penalties was just to refocus and own the moment and I’m really pleased [with the win].
“I’m immensely proud of the effort, but we know there are areas we’ve got to try to improve.
“There are a number of areas we want to develop and evolve further, with the ball for sure. We want to be more structured in progressing the ball up the pitch.
“But sometimes you’ve got to be successful; you’ve got to find a way to win and a way to hang in when you’re up against it,
“It’s the first competitive game of the season. We’ve now got to regroup, to recover and to prepare for a really difficult task on Saturday against Notts County.
“We’ve got to make sure the players are fresh and ready to go and then we start again.
“It’s the first game, let’s not get carried away. Is it nice [to win]? Yes. Was it nice for the supporters? Absolutely. And also nice for the players.
“There were some huge bits that we were really proud of – set plays, bits and pieces where we set targets for players to be more competitive and difficult to play against. I can’t praise the players enough.”
Here’s how fans reacted after Barnet v Newport as two screamers, dramatic late comeback sends the Carabao Cup tie to a penalty shootout…
@UT_County:
we cant keep doing this
it being a cup comp has saved you
sort it out
@Jack20939278: Not great that ending of the game, but probably justified and they should’ve won the game, 2 screamers from us but they were much better team, still need a midfielder and forward
@LucccyAshcroft: Football is truly back and we love doing it the hard way 💁♀️😂👏🏻
@RhysTLock: Glad we won. Do not feel good for what’s to come this season 😬
@TintyBucketHats: Another classic county… Right, Millwall it is 😂😂🖤🧡
@William_Downs_: Never in any doubt! Had give Barnet a lil chance at the end 👀😂
@alex_jd29: Bloody hell, we don’t half make it difficult!
@Memdozer: Oh well. That’s all the preseason games done. Now onto the real season #barnetfc
@DeanBristow16: Play like that every week and Barnet win more than most in that league. Could do with an actual striker though to finish off the moves
@TacticalBrennan: Thought Kensdale and senior were really good today, many positives to take to Saturday. Not the best of debuts for hugill mind
@Brom_rocco08: Well the EFL is certainly back, Barnet rescued late on after 2 Newport worldies but couldn’t hold their nerve. Disappointing start to the season for them but you would expect Dean Brennan will be happy with how they managed to bounce back. Nothing to worry about this early on.
@Hackett01: Barnet has 76% possession, not ruthless in the final third, and Newport scores two quality strikes to go 0-2 up. Bees score two in 2 minutes 97th+99th min only to then lose on penalties. Could be some season !!!
Barnet 2 Newport 2 (2-4 on pens). Well, that nearly turned out similar to other games I’ve been watching recently😅Two great strikes from them. We were good but lacked in the final third. Incredible scenes to take it to pens but unlucky in the final shootout. Roll on the season🐝 pic.twitter.com/4G3ONxlW0G
— Carla Devine (@CarlaDevine1) July 29, 2025
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