“DREAMS do come true occasionally,” said Newport County AFC manager Michael Flynn as he talked up his side’s chances of a shock victory before the match.

But this wasn’t one of those occasions at Wembley as Tottenham Hotspur showed all their Premier League quality to dispatch their League Two opponents and book their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

County held their own for 25 minutes before Spurs broke the deadlock thanks to a large slice of fortune as the unfortunate Dan Butler diverted Moussa Sissoko’s shot past a helpless Joe Day.

Argentinian international Erik Lamela added a second on 34 minutes with an ice cool finish and the hosts began to exert the kind of dominance you’d expect from a team 73 places higher in the football pyramid.

The perfect pitch proved much more conducive to Tottenham’s slick passing than the Rodney Parade surface did in the initial tie and at times the exquisite control of the likes of Lamela and Heung-min Son was just too much for the Exiles to handle.

The 7,200 travelling fans tried to lift their heroes while Flynn watched on impassively from the technical area, looking impeccable in his suit and shoes shined to within an inch of their lives.

The club’s big day had begun just as brightly with the announcement of a new contract for the manager and the arrival of the team sheets brought more good news for County fans with the surprise inclusion of Ben White.

Flynn had categorically ruled out the 20-year-old with a thigh strain on Tuesday but his parent club Brighton & Hove Albion reportedly gave him the green light to play at the home of English football.

Mark O’Brien dropped to the bench along with Tyler Reid as David Pipe also returned and Flynn reverted to the same starting XI that had held Spurs to a 1-1 draw in Newport on January 27.

Flynn’s men were only eight minutes from dumping the north London giants out in that match and they began this replay in confident mood.

Captain Joss Labadie, so impressive in the first match, gave the hosts a scare when he burst through the middle in the eighth minute and was hauled down by Victor Wanyama.

And Padraig Amond, the goal hero at Rodney Parade, headed just over from Robbie Willmott’s cross shortly afterwards but the offside flag was correctly raised.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men didn’t create too much until England left-back Danny Rose volleyed into the side netting from Sissoko’s chipped cross midway through the first half.

Ben Tozer then took a boot in the face as Lamela attempted an overhead kick before Butler inadvertent back heel wrong-footed Day and Tottenham led for the first time in the tie.

Day made a smart double save as he beat away a Lamela half volley and then gets down well to deny Son from a tight angle on the rebound.

But he was confidently beaten by Lamela for the second as Son picked out the winger’s late run into the box and the outcome was never in doubt.

Frank Nouble led the County response as he galloped down the left flank and crossed for Labadie but Wanyama just managed to clear the danger.

South Wales Argus:

At half-time it seemed like it would be an exercise in damage limitation for the visitors, who were desperate to avoid the fate of League Two rivals Notts County at Swansea City the night before.

And, sure enough, Spurs created chance after chance in the second period but County dug deep and showed real grit to stay in the game.

Day saved well with his knees to deny Lamela, substitute Christian Eriksen twice went close and fellow sub Dele Alli hit the bar when put clean through the middle.

Fernando Llorente, so anonymous at Rodney Parade, should have grabbed a couple of goals but somehow placed a header and a volley inches wide of the post with Day beaten.

Flynn boldly sent on Matty Dolan and Shawn McCoulsky but there was no way through the disciplined home defence until Amond was denied by Michel Vorm deep into stoppage time.

His side can be proud of their display in keeping the superstars within reach and refusing to buckle under intense pressure but the dream victory was never really on.

With plenty of money and confidence in the bank, it’s now back to the league and time to refocus tired minds and bodies on a promotion push – a dream that is very much still within their grasp.

Spurs: Vorm; Aurier, Alderweireld, Foyth, Rose (Walker-Peters, 86); Winks, Wanyama (Alli, 78), Sissoko, Lamela; Son (Eriksen, 61) Llorente

Subs not used: Gazzaniga, Trippier, Sanchez, Kane

Booked: Wanyama

County: Day; Pipe (McCoulsky, 67), White (O’Brien, 77) Demetriou, Butler; Tozer (Dolan, 59), Bennett; Willmott, Labadie, Nouble; Amond

Subs not used: Bittner, Reid, Sheehan, Hayes

Referee: Stuart Attwell

Attendance: 38,947 (County 7,200)

Argus star man: Nouble