Euphoria. Disbelief. Worry. Entertained. Breathless. Nauseated. Elated. Just some of the emotions I’ve experienced in full HD as a Newcastle United supporter this week before, during and after our cup quarter-final victory over Leicester.
It’s a marked difference from the frustration, anger and eventual apathy I felt during Ashley’s last few years at the helm.
The feel-good factor has been a constant this season. Moods soured a touch after Sheffield Wednesday, but quickly switched focus to the much bigger and more important cup game on Tuesday. Newcastle United could get to our first semi-final since 2005, and that was huge.
Wor Flags’ idea to encourage supporters to bring scarves was brilliant. St James glittered with tens of thousands of black-and-white striped memorabilia, a sea of hope and unity.
The game started bright, and Miguel Almiron was on unstoppable form. He had fire in his belly and a smile on his face as he created chance after chance that was eventually squandered.
That’s when the worry started to set in. We’d been here before in our previous three games. We’d started our strongest team – surely we had to win?
The Sheffield Wednesday loss meant nothing to me simply because of this game. But it gave me anxiety that I couldn’t shake. What if it had knocked our confidence? What if we were going through a dry spell of scoring? It’s weird to say that I’m not used to losing this season, and that one loss (even with half the team changed) had rattled me.
Of course, I never should have doubted the lads – and there was nobody better to kick the scoring off than Dan Burn. What a moment, and what a night afterwards, filled with dancing memes and Ultrabeat. I’d like to formally apologise to my friend Jade for punching her 1,536 times when he scored!
That goal knocked the wind out of me – in the best way – and it’s a moment I’ll never forget. Nor will I forget the dancing, which I’ve (perhaps deliberately) imprinted onto my brain forever.
Joelinton, the brick wall (as christened by Burn and Longstaff) secured the tie with a cool, crisp finish following another battling performance. Beyond Burn – who had also been outstanding on the left as well as scoring – Almiron and Joelinton, Willock stood out as our other best performer.
His work rate is phenomenal and he worked tirelessly to win the ball back and set up attack after attack. He went under the radar in the first few months of the season, but it’s good to see him finally getting the recognition he deserves. The price we paid for him is peanuts when he’s performing like this.
The rest of my night was spent in the pub drinking and gobbling up every piece of NUFC content I could once I’d got home. The Burn dance remixes, his and Howe’s post-match interviews, Trippier and Bruno doting on one another, Howe’s dressing room speech…I couldn’t get enough.
The next night, I settled down to watch City surely knock Southampton out and become our next test. Southampton started as brightly as we had on Tuesday, and I joked on Twitter that if it continued, they’d win 2-0. I’ll be putting the lottery on this week!
It’s a good job I don’t watch NUFC in my flat much these days, because the screeches from my fourth-floor flat at those two goals will have been heard in the underground flats.
Knowing that we were the only top four club in the final four of the cup didn’t quell the nerves as the draw drew closer. My heart was racing. My hands were shaking. My breath was ragged.
We all know that, in our current form, we could take any of these three on in the semis and the final. What mattered most was when we’d play at home and another screech came as we were drawn second to Southampton.
Based on their performance on Wednesday, this is the hardest of the semi-final draws. They’ve shown what they can do, and it’s another long old trip down the coast. But I don’t care, because they’ll have to face 52,000 of us in the second leg.
We can win. We can get to the final. On our day, we can beat whoever we come up against at Wembley. And we’re back to euphoria.
Tell me ma, me ma…
Agree, remember them all as if it were yesterday.
slope game(Quote)