Newcastle, a historic player poised to be great again, is having a great season. Third in the Premier League, they now won the right to play in their first final since 1999 after eliminating Southampton in the semis of the League Cup (2-1).
The ‘magpies’, who won the first leg (0-1), await their opponent on February 26 at Wembley. He will win tomorrow’s tie at Old Trafford with Manchester United having a clear advantage after last week’s 0-3 defeat to Nottingham at the City Ground.
Sean Longstaff, their 25-goal academy player, was the architect of Newcastle’s qualification with his double, the first of his career, in a tremendous start to the match for Eddie Howe’s side.
Longstaff, surprise hero
Longstaff opened the scoring in the 5th minute by receiving a short in the area from Kieran Trippier and finishing with an accurate cross shot. Longstaff made it 2-0 himself two minutes later with a shot that skimmed the post but he soon scored his second goal.
Newcastle were flying up the field, carried by an enthusiastic crowd on a historic night, and 2-0 was the result of a perfectly executed counter. Joseph Willock and Joelinton created it on the left, Miguel Almirón took hold and Longstaff pushed into the net (21′),
End a ten game unbeaten streak for Pope
Southampton were unable to get out of their way before the collapse of the game came upon them but a poor pass back from Willock was caught by Che Adams, who unwittingly unleashed a whip from the edge of the area that surprised Nick Pope (29′ ). It was the first goal conceded by the English goalkeeper after keeping a clean sheet in the previous ten games.
2-1 left both Newcastle players and fans cold. Southampton were two goals away from forcing extra time, but the ‘magpies’ maintained control, slowing the game and compacting lines so that the minutes passed without any action remaining.
Red to Bruno Guimaraes
However, twenty minutes from the end Pope was providential by avoiding a one-on-one draw with Adam Armstrong after receiving a good pass between the lines from Romeo Lavia (71′). Fear woke Newcastle but soon after Bruno Guimaraes, at the behest of VAR, saw a direct red card for a difficult tackle on Samuel Edozie (81′).
Howe’s side hold their own at St James’ Park, where they remain unbeaten this season after 14 games, and will have the chance to challenge for their first title since the FA Cup in 1955. They have yet to play in the final since losing the FA Cup in 1999 against Manchester United (2-0) and this was their second League Cup final after also losing in 1976 against Manchester City (2-1).
NEWCASTLE
2one
southampton
Newcastle: Pope; Trippier, Schär, Botman, Brun; Sean Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, Willock (Saint-Maximin, 61′); Almirón (Murphy, 61′) (Anderson, 90′), Wilson (Isak, 61′) (Lascelles, 90′), Joelinton
The
Southampton: Bazunu; Bree, Lyanco (Perraud, 46′), Bednarek, Salisu (Mara, 88′), Walker-Peters; Ward-Prowse (Edozie, 36′), Ibrahima Diallo (Aribo, 77′), Alcaraz (Lavia, 46′); Adam ArmstrongChe Adams
Goals: 1-0, Sean Longstaff (5′); 2-0, Sean Longstaff (21′); 2-1, Che Adams (29′)
Referee: Paul Tierney. Direct red to Bruno Guimaraes (82′)
The
Spectators: 51,975 at St James’ Park
The
see the match sheet
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
