Bonkers FA Cup tie settled by brilliant Willock – Birmingham 2-3 Newcastle

A brilliant cup tie in Birmingham and another show of character from Eddie Howe’s Mags, as a much-changed Newcastle United came back from 1-0 down after 40 seconds to win 3-2 at St Andrews.

It had a bit of everything. Stunning goals, spirited comebacks, several yellow cards and a bit of drama too, with the debate continuing as to whether Joe Willock’s first of two goals actually crossed the line!

Willock was our man of the match – not just for his two goals but an all round display full of energy, pace and driving runs – and Will Osula also caught the eye, showing moments of brilliance in an electric first half performance down our right.

Howe made NINE changes from Wednesday night’s win over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final, seeing Pope, Livramento, Krafth, Targett, Longstaff, Miley, Willock, Osula and Wilson come in for Dubravka, Trippier, Botman, Schar, Hall, Tonali, Murphy, Gordon and Isak.

It was Wilson’s first start for two months and a new-look front three, with Osula down the right and Willock on the left. At the back, Burn was the only player to keep his place from midweek.

There was a raucous atmosphere inside St Andrews and it got even louder just 40 seconds in as we made a disastrous start. Birmingham’s first punt up the pitch led to an early corner, we didn’t win the first or second ball and Laird was left unmarked to smash in past Pope.

Willock responded with a strong run down the left and dangerous ball across the box, but neither Osula or Wilson were able to keep up with him or get on the end of his low delivery.

Osula looked sharp in the early stages and did well to set up Wilson on 11 minutes. Livramento’s pace kept the ball in play and Osula’s quick feet set up our No.9, only for his close range shot to be well blocked.

Pope then made a superb save a few moments later to keep it at 1-0, tipping Anderson’s volley wide after a slight deflection via Burn, who had gone into the book moments earlier.

We had 67% possession but the Blues were making life extremely difficult, flying into tackles and closing us down at every opportunity. However, we finally got some joy in the final third on 20 minutes.

Wilson’s cross found Osula at the back post and the Dane played a first-time cut back to Willock. His first effort appeared to be parried off the line before his follow up effort was blazed over, but the linesman flagged for a goal. No VAR on offer and replays looked extremely tight, but we’ll take it! 1-1.

Just a few minutes later, we were ahead. Osula started it all with a stunning touch and burst down the right. His vicious shot was well saved but Livramento was on hand to flash a low ball across the box. Willock and Osula made a mess of it but Wilson was a fox in the box, reacting to the loose ball to force it over the line. 2-1!

A superb response to a poor start and Osula was causing chaos down the right with his pace, electric feet and ability to draw fouls. Willock had a goal disallowed after firing home from Burn’s flick in an offside position, although Stansfield should’ve levelled it a minute later as he headed Anderson’s superb delivery wide from barely six yards out.

Straight back down the other end, Willock did superbly once again to burst down the left, skipping past a few Birmingham challenges before playing Osula in. The Dane cut inside, but the chance soon went as his initial effort was blocked.

It was a brilliant game and, after Wright’s first time effort was straight at Pope, Itawa made up for it with one of the best strikes we’ll see all weekend. After Targett’s header was only half cleared, the Japanese midfielder smashed a half volley into the roof of the net from 25 yards. 2-2.

Osula was causing chaos and after a number of blatant fouls from left-back Cochrane, the Dane snapped and went into the book alongside Anderson after some handbags just before the break. What first half that was. Messy, at times, from a Newcastle perspective, but a great comeback, plenty of action, some heated battles and a few lively performances, with Osula and Willock the standouts.

Howe made one change at the break and it seemed like a pre-planned one, bringing on Tonali for Bruno to ensure each of our star midfielders got 45 minutes a piece after big efforts on Wednesday.

Another change followed only this one was forced through injury, as Burn hobbled off with what looked to be a groin issue. Schar came on and Murphy also entered the game, replacing Wilson after 55 minutes. That saw Osula move inside to a central role, with Murphy coming on down the right.

A lengthy injury to Leonard broke up a stop-start second half even further and a flurry of yellow cards followed, as Stansfield, Willock and Klarer all going into the book as an already heated affair threatened to spill over.

Willock was our standout player, alongside Osula, and our most consistent threat, so it felt pretty fitting that our previously out of sorts midfielder netted the winner, with our No.28 firing a low shot in at the near post after good work from Miley and Longstaff in the build up.

Murphy very nearly wrapped it up after Willock’s lovely run and through ball set the winger through on goal to make it 4-2. However, after rounding the goalkeeper, his goal-bound effort was blocked on the line by Davies before the fourth official signalled 12 minutes of added time.

We defended well at the death – Tonali was relentless in his ability to win back possession – and ran down the clock further as Osula was replaced by Isak with 103 minutes on the clock. And that was that, a hard fought 3-2 win in one hell of a physical and fiery battle in Birmingham.

A lot of teams would’ve lost to Birmingham tonight – the atmosphere was electric, they played with intensity throughout and they’ve lost once in their last 18 at home – but we showed real resilience, quality and fight to come through it.

Next up, a return to Premier League action and the start of a tough run as we head to Man City next Saturday.

STARTING XI: Pope – Livramento, Krafth, Burn, Targett – Longstaff, Bruno, Miley – Osula, Wilson, Willock.

SUBS: Dubravka, Ruddy, Trippier, Schar, Tonali, Isak, Hall, Murphy, Neave.