One of the most satisfying nights of the Eddie Howe era as Newcastle United move into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup after a dominant 3-0 win over Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United.
It’s just our second win in 51 years at Old Trafford and what a win it was, as a much-changed side full of square pegs in round holes got revenge for that cup final defeat last season.
Howe made EIGHT changes to the side that drew at Wolves last weekend, seeing Dubravka, Livramento, Krafth, Dummett, Hall, Targett Willock and Ritchie replace Pope, Trippier, Lascelles, Schar, Burn, Bruno, Almiron and Wilson. Longstaff captained the side and Joelinton and Gordon were the only others to keep their place, with the latter starting as a false nine.
Some we fearing the worst and wondering how we’d cope after wholesale changes, but we were a joy to watch throughout and played them off the park in a devastating first half. It actually started with yet another injury, as Matt Targett felt his hamstring go just a few minutes in, yet we bossed it from that point onwards and outworked the home side in every department.
We were quicker to loose balls, far slicker in possession, looked organised defensively and so composed when we broke forward. Considering the changes and mishmash of players across different positions, it was one of the most impressive 45 minutes we’ve seen since Howe took over.
Livramento’s role in our opener was incredible, as he followed a superb piece of one-vs-one defending with a brilliant run and perfectly weighted pass into Almiron, who caught Dalot sleeping and fired past Onana. An immediate impact from Miggy, who came on for Targett just a few minutes in.
One then became two and it was another of our summer signings at the heart of it, as Hall latched onto a loose ball and drove a low shot into the far corner. What a moment for the boyhood Toon fan on his second start for the club. The 19-year-old played with composure beyond his years and wasn’t the only Mag who stood out, with Willock’s ball-carrying, Joelinton’s dominance and Gordon’s constant running and movement causing havoc.
"Watch those five players, LOOK AT THEM!" ????@GNev2 ????️
Lewis Hall doubles Newcastle's lead! ???? pic.twitter.com/iuCSaWzCoF
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) November 1, 2023
All of this came after Hannibal should’ve seen red. The youngster was booked early for a cynical whack into Longstaff and left one on Krafth moments later. Two yellow card offences but the referee bottled it; not that we let us affect us.
Man Utd made changes at the break, seeing Amrabat and Wan-Bissaka replace Casemiro and Dalot. They pushed us back and were seeing more of the ball, but Dubravka still hadn’t been tested as we hit the hour mark. Then, any faint hope of a Man Utd comeback was shattered by the brilliant Willock, who smashed a side-footed shot into the corner.
3-0 Newcastle, home fans sneaking out and 7,000 Geordies chanting ‘sacked in the morning’ towards a stunned ten Hag. Not bad at all for an ‘annoying’ Newcastle side that just love to ‘time-waste’.
Game over and incredible scenes from Old Trafford. A superb performance from every Mag involved, a packed out away end loving every minute and a huge win against the odds that sends us into the quarter-finals alongside Liverpool, Chelsea, West Ham, Fulham, Everton, Middlesbrough and Port Vale.
There were so many top performances, it was tough to pick our man of the match. Livramento was superb at both ends once again and our centre-back pairing of Krafth and Dummett barely put a foot wrong; pretty incredible for two full-backs who’d started just ONCE in the past 15 months before tonight.
Hall justified his selection with a mature display and inch-perfect finish. Willock caused havoc in the first half and sealed the win with an emphatic finish, Joelinton dominated a weak Man Utd midfield, Longstaff lead by example as captain and Gordon caused havoc with his pace and movement.
Even the rarely-seen Ritchie did a solid job for the team, with Miggy starting it all off with a calm finish. Dubravka barely had a thing to do, leaving his former club with a clean sheet on his return. A terrific team effort and one of the sweetest victories we’ll have all season.
Next up, a Premier League meeting with Arsenal at St James’ Park on Saturday night, followed by a trip to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League next Tuesday.
STARTING XI: Dubravka, – Livramento, Krafth, Dummett, Targett – Hall, Longstaff, Willock – Ritchie, Gordon, Joelinton.
SUBS: Karius, Trippier, Lascelles, Wilson, Burn, Guimaraes, Diallo, Parkinson.
A convincing victory for Eddie Howe's men! ???????? pic.twitter.com/8m75XuBpR8
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) November 1, 2023
Excellent result. Never ever saw that coming with the team we put out, but fantastic from the lads. Hall and Livramento were fantastic!
Just watch us get Liverpool at Anfield in the next round.
Gilly Toon(Quote)
Yep , brilliant result and yep we will probably get Liverpool next ????
kimtoon(Quote)
Away to Chelsea
kimtoon(Quote)
Well what a result that was. Beating that lot on their home patch is very sweet with some brilliant finishing.
time- wasted it most certainly was not but it must have been beyond annoying to the loathsomely pompous eth
Still loving the ride with Howe’s MAGnificent MAGical MAGs
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
Well the site seems to have settled down (for me) so I’m going to try some emojis and apostrophes to see how it all looks for y’all ????????
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
Special characters (apostrophes) good ???? Emojis bad????
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
Well I had GILLY’S details when I got on here, so still some issues and having to keep re opening page after comments the other night of the cup game.
kimtoon(Quote)