'Big moments' - Eddie Howe explains why he made 'harsh' Lewis Miley substitution for Newcastle United

Elliot Anderson helped Newcastle United progress to the quarter-final of the FA Cup with a penalty shootout win at Blackburn Rovers.

The 21-year-old was named on the bench for the first time since October after spending the last four months on the sidelines recovering from a stress fracture in his back. Anderson was a late substitute for Lewis Miley in extra-time and converted his penalty as The Magpies progressed as 4-3 winners in the shootout after the match ended 1-1.

Head coach Eddie Howe's decision to substitute Miley - who was substituted on during the second half of normal time - initially seemed harsh but was ultimately justified by Anderson's successful spot kick.

Explaining the decision, Howe said: "It's worth noting how much I trust [Anderson] because I was bringing him on the pitch to take a penalty, I took Lewy off and put Elliot on because I trust him in the big moments.

"He's technically very good, he's a specialist set-piece taker, penalty taker but he hasn't played, he hasn't really trained although he's worked incredibly hard on his rehab and he looks really fit so I'm really pleased with him but he's coming in cold. Big credit for him for how he took his penalty."

Howe was able to turn to his bench multiple times during the match with Miguel Almiron coming on and grabbing an assist for Anthony Gordon in the second half. Harvey Barnes, Miley, Anderson and Tino Livramento were also introduced as substitutes.   "You need the tools to win games," Howe said. "Without our bench and without Elliot, he was a late decision today to take him with us and if we need to use him we can use him but I didn't want to use him for more than 10 minutes.

"Even having him available and I was always going to trust him with a penalty and, who knows, the importance of having him available and that's through the squad.

"I was able to take Joe Willock off early because I had quality players to bring on and having to look after him and Alex [Isak] is crucial because we need them both to stay fit. They're both getting their fitness and their sharpness in games which isn't ideal but that's where we've been all season."