Joe Day did not have time to drink in the appreciation of the crowd at Rodney Parade on Tuesday night as his Newport County side caused another upset by knocking Middlesbrough out of the FA Cup.
The Newport goalkeeper's wife, who had been expecting twins for the previous two days, went into labour during the game. Day had just kept a clean sheet as Newport won the FA Cup fourth round replay 2-0.
Carlow man Padraig Amond, scorer of Newport's second goal, told RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland that Day's wife Lizzy gave birth to two girls.
👶👶 @NewportCounty goalkeeper Joe Day's wife has been close to giving birth to twins for days.
🕤 Tonight, she went into labour during The Exiles' 2-0 win over @Boro.
🏃 At the FT whistle, Joe raced straight down the tunnel to be with his wife.
💛 Good luck Joe and family! pic.twitter.com/w46gD2GjoM— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 5, 2019
"The professional that he is, he turned his phone off," Newport manager Michael Flynn told BT Sport after the game.
I didn't hide it, believe it or not. As soon as the game was over and we'd won, he said, 'Gaffer, thank you so much, Can I go please?'
I said, 'Of course you can. Do you need a lift?'
He sprinted off, it's the quickest I've seen him move, but all our thoughts are with Joe and Lizzy and the arrival of the twins.
Newport will face Manchester City in the fifth round on February 16th.
