Newcastle United star ‘escapes’ three-match ban as £25m man shines in Birmingham City win

Goals from Joe Willock and Callum Wilson secured Newcastle United a hard-fought win against Birmingham City on Saturday night - one that keeps alive their dream of reaching Wembley twice in two seasons. Here, we take a look at five things of note from Newcastle United’s win over Birmingham City:

Joe Willock’s ‘honest’ goal admission

Much will be made, debated and written about how Newcastle United got themselves back into the game on Saturday night. Did it cross the line?

Replays suggest not. The goalscorer suggests otherwise.

After a difficult week, one that saw Willock the victim of horrendous racial abuse on social media, the former Arsenal man responded in the perfect way by netting a brace, including the all important winning goal. But of course, all that will be talked about was his first.

Capitalising on a pull back by Will Osula, Willock poked the ball goalwards, only to see his effort blocked by Bailey Peacock-Farrell as he slammed a rebound high over the crossbar.

Asked about that moment, Willock, in a rather tongue-in-cheek manner revealed he was ‘convinced’ the ball had crossed the line. “I was convinced you know, that’s why I kicked it over the bar the second time.” Willock said with a twinkle in his eye.

“I actually don’t know because I thought it went over the line because the keeper was so far back in his goal. I was thinking ‘how, his arms are not that long?’ I actually need to watch it back but they’ve given it to me so I’m happy.”

Potential red card ‘turning point’

After a pulsating first period, the second-half was a much more timid affair as Newcastle United looked to control the match. Sandro Tonali, who came on for Bruno Guimaraes at the break, was the main reason for this change as he controlled proceedings throughout and was always in the right place at the right time to mop up any danger.

Another factor in the slowed tempo was a long injury delay as Marc Leonard was stretchered off the pitch. The Blues man was given oxygen as he left the pitch, receiving a standing ovation from all four corners of St Andrew’s as he was carried off.

Leonard’s injury occurred after a collision between himself and Lewis Miley, one that showed the Magpies man catch his opponent with his studs. Miley wasn’t shown a red card for the incident by referee Matthew Donohue and with no technology in-play because of FA Cup rules, no further action was taken.

Speaking about the tackle on BBC, however, former Birmingham defender Curtis Davies revealed that he believes Miley may have been in a spot of bother had VAR been in operation. “I think, if we have VAR, with the position of his foot, I think that is potentially a red card,” Davies said. “It was the catalyst to how the game went after that.”

A red card for Miley for that tackle would have seen him handed a three-match ban.

Wilson back amongst the goals

Nine months is a long time in football. That’s how long Wilson had gone without scoring.

He had only made six appearances in that time, admittedly, but for so long Newcastle’s talisman, it was an unheard of streak. That all ended on Saturday when he pounced, as all good strikers do, on a loose ball in the six-yard box to put the Magpies ahead.

It was far from pretty, but it really didn’t need to be anything else. In a time that has seen the brilliance of Alexander Isak dominate headlines, Wilson reminded everyone of his quality in front of goal.

Back-to-back cup wins - the new Newcastle United?

Newcastle United booked their place in the Carabao Cup final in midweek. Their second final in three seasons.

This time two years ago, they too had a place in the final to look forward too. However, their FA Cup journey was already at an end.

Sheffield Wednesday, then of League One, were 2-1 winners at home against a much changed Newcastle United. A repeat - and if you spoke to any Newcastle United fan ahead of kick-off on Saturday - was very much on the cards.

Even an early setback couldn’t deter them from booking their place in the next round this time and a very professional 90 minutes (well, 106 minutes with all that added time) saw them come through a very tricky looking tie with flying colours. Speaking post-match, Howe spoke about the challenges that faced his squad on Saturday.

"It was a tough game for us. Mentally, physically – you could see a few players were on the edge today. We’re delighted to get through.” Howe told BBC.

"I thought it was going to be a difficult night before the game. [The early goal] made it doubly difficult because the atmosphere in the stadium totally changed. We managed to get a foothold and did really well. At half-time it was about staying calm. I thought we did that a lot better in the second half."

Fresh injury blow

Not everything was rosy on Saturday night though as Dan Burn was forced off through injury. Howe confirmed after the match that the defender had suffered a groin injury, describing it as a ‘big concern’.

Anthony Gordon also missed the trip to the Midlands with a minor thigh injury. Both will be assessed ahead of the clash against Manchester City on Saturday.