Newport star's journey to prove Antiguan heritage as he prepares for Man Utd
Nick Townsend is the FA Cup giantkiller who had to take a DNA test to launch his international career with a paradise island.
When Manchester United venture into booby-trapped Rodney Parade on Sunday Newport County goalkeeper Townsend’s extended family will be tuning in from Antigua.
The sun-drenched Caribbean resort is a cricket stronghold where ‘King’ Viv Richards and fast bowling legend Curtly Ambrose once ruled with bat and ball.
Now Solihull-born Townsend, who has never been on the losing side in an FA Cup tie, is relishing his swab story after a four-year battle to prove he was qualified to play for Antigua & Barbuda.
Let’s spell it out: If United are knocked out in the fourth round by the Exiles, it will be the worst result in their history and manager Erik ten Hag will face pelters on the coconut shy.
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But for 29-year-old Townsend, it would be the greatest result since his DNA test confirmed he was eligible to play international football in a tropical nirvana of palm trees, pina coladas on the beach and pepperpot stew.
“It’s a long story - basically, my grandfather comes from Antigua but the trail was broken by names missing on birth certificates,” he said. “We had to go down the line of DNA tests to prove the family bloodline and the whole thing took about four years to get everything in order.
“We had to pay a few hundred quid to get professional tests done with swabs under scientific laboratory conditions, and then I had to go over to Antigua to get a passport sorted.
“If I could go back in time, I wish it could all have happened a lot sooner because I’ve missed a lot of opportunities with Antigua and football is my way of reconnecting with branches of the family tree.
Nick Townsend's side take on Man United (Phil Duncan/Every Second Media/REX/Shutterstock)“On one visit I got driven round the island meeting cousins. You can drive across it in 45 minutes but it’s such a beautiful place. There was an international agent who looks around the leagues over here to see who’s eligible to play for certain countries.
“She put me in touch with the Antiguan FA, I got in touch with the captain and that side of it was quite quick. Getting in touch was pretty easy - all the paperwork was the hard part.
“At some points, I was fearing the worst and thinking, ‘This isn’t going to happen.’ But it was worth all the waiting when I finally made my debut against Barbados and we won 1-0.
“I got off the plane, spent a day with my new team-mates and played the next day, which was probably a good thing. I didn’t have time to get nervous. I know Antigua is best known for its cricketers and it would be fantastic if Viv Richards and any of those legends came to watch us play.
“I’ve only won half a dozen caps so far but the experience has been incredible. We played in Cuba last year and you had to trade a bottle of shampoo for a couple of hours’ wifi.”
Playing against United will put Townsend in full glare of the searchlight worldwide - and he expects to be busy. He said: “I prefer it that way - I want to show what I can do and, when I look back on my career, hopefully the day I stood up to Manchester United will be up there.
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“We’ve got to make this a horrible place for them to come on Sunday and give the fans some payback because it’s been a hard season for them. I’ve had people on the phone from Antigua asking where they can watch it on TV, and we know FA Cup shocks make headlines around the world.
“How are we going to upset United? Ah, that would be telling, but everyone knows we’re a high-press team who like to get after the opposition and don’t let them settle. We need to get after them in the first 10 minutes and let them know they’re in for a hard time.”
In the last six years alone, Newport have shocked Leicester and Leeds at Rodney Parade, while Tottenham were eight minutes from ignominy before Harry Kane’s equaliser salvaged a replay. But surely United couldn’t be knocked out by a sucker rum punch… could they?
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