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Oscar Haley

Alan Shearer honest Newcastle United FA Cup verdict after third round Sheffield Wednesday defeat

BBC Sport pundits Alan Shearer and Dion Dublin both believe Newcastle United did not deserve to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup after the Magpies were dumped out of the competition by Sheffield Wednesday.

Newcastle lost out 2-1 to Darren Moore's side at Hillsborough on Saturday night in a game that saw them rue a host of missed chances.

While Bruno Guimaraes' 69th-minute strike got Newcastle back into the contest, ultimately Josh Windass' second half brace for the Owls was enough to see the League One side past the Magpies.

READ MORE: Eddie Howe outlines Alexander Isak plan after positive Newcastle return

Had Newcastle been more clinical in front of goal, they would have advanced to the fourth round. Alexander Isak, Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood all missed chances they would have expected to put away.

The defeat to Wednesday was Newcastle's third consecutive FA Cup third round defeat. While Eddie Howe heavily rotated the Magpies starting line-up for the trip to Hillsborough, there's no doubt there was enough quality on the pitch to see them past the Owls.

However, after not taking their chances, they were punished by Wednesday who fought and scrapped to advance to the fourth round of the competition.

And speaking on BBC's Match of the Day in the aftermath of the defeat, Shearer and Dublin both agreed Newcastle's inability to finish their chances meant they were deserved losers on the day.

"I will say they [Sheffield Wednesday] deserved to go through," said Shearer. "I thought they were superb. I did’t think they played particularly well in the first-half but they were a much better outfit in the second-half. Created chances, Josh Windass scored two very clever goals, could have got a hat-trick, hit the bar from a free-kick and Newcastle weren’t good enough in the final third, missed far too many chances.

"Of course it [Newcastle's goal] was, it was obviously offside. It’s a good ball in but you can see - I know the goalkeeper saves it but that’s irrelevant - he [Bruno Guimaraes] is offside.

"So whether we thought Sheffield Wednesday’s first goal was off, it didn’t change things. They deserved to go through Sheffield Wednesday. Newcastle weren’t good enough today. He [Eddie Howe] took a chance by changing the team and the players he put in were not good enough."

Dublin added: "[It was a] great performance, all the words, all the positive words you want to throw towards Darren Moore’s men, they ticked every box you need to get to the next round - endeavour, work rate, bodies on the line, good finishing. I’m not going to say they deserved to go through but when you’ve got one chance, they took their chances.

"They were outstanding in the end, finishing was better in the end. Newcastle let up too many chances that were on a plate. They should have scored more than one goal, they just weren’t good enough in the final third."

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