Right, well that’s this one done and dusted. A Manchester City side without Kevin De Bruyne cruised into the semis once again with two slightly fortunate deflected goals but they were indisputably the better side in a tie lacking much by way of magic and jeopardy. Injury-ravaged and disjointed, Newcastle’s trophy drought goes on.
And I’ll sign off by directing you to Jamie Jackson’s match report. Thanks for your company and emails. Bye.
Some reaction from City’s Jeremy Doku: “I feel good,” says the Belgian of the performance. “I’m happy with the performance of the team and of myself – I’m looking for my best form. I think I’m getting better and better. The team did exactly what the coach wanted us to do, and scored some nice goals,” he says with a mischievous smile. “We were in control but you always have to be careful with their counterattacks – they have some fast players who want to run in behind.” Not that they were given the chance to do that much today.
“We have again been outclassed,” laments Chris Wright, an exiled Geordie in France. “A shame. The reality is we have essentially a Championship-level bench and precious few in the starting eleven on City’s level. They are a good decade ahead of us. This gulf (no pun intended) is not Howe’s fault.”
Newcastle’s players remain on the pitch to applaud their 8,000 travellers, who put in the best performances in black and white tonight. Their team just couldn’t match City’s assurance and composure and sheer goddamn class. Had Isak taken either of his gilt-edged chances they might have made a game of it, though perhaps City would have just stepped up another gear. They didn’t need to hit the top ones today.
Full-time: Manchester City 2-0 Newcastle
Well, that was never really in doubt. Manchester City are in their sixth successive FA Cup semi-final.
90+2 mins: Almiron clunks into Foden and is booked.
90+1 mins: Foden is announced over the PA as man of the match. Plenty of contenders – Doku, Akanji, Rodri – but the England man has been a joy to watch again. A master of tight-space management and poise.
Updated
90 mins: We’ll have just the three minutes extra.
89 mins: Newcastle spring City’s offside trap on the right but Akanji tracks it brilliantly, retrieves possession and City pour forward again and Foden is almost through at the other end before Dubrovka gathers.
Updated
88 mins: Newcastle perservere, Bruno trying to play in Isak who’s a willing runner but can’t get there before the keeper, Ortega.
86 mins: A word for Man City’s defensive performance, which has been quietly excellent again, augmented by their superb defensive midfielders Rodri and Kovacic. They’ve seized on every Newcastle hesitation and error.
And now Haaland does go off – Alvarez replaces him
85 mins: Talking of knack, Haaland’s been clutching his shoulder. But on he soldiers.
83 mins: The corner is cleared, City keep possession until Silva strays offside, bringing respite to Newcastle, who make anotherr sub – Krafth for Botman, who looks like he’s picked up a knock. Another one.
82 mins: City chance: more excellent work from Bobb and Foden puts Haaland in and he forages past two defenders before his shot from an angle on the left is deflected behind for yet another corner, their 10th.
Updated
80 mins: Rodri goes down looking a bit cramped, but he’s back gingerly on his feet. Meanwhile. Bobb gets his first taste of the ball, shimmying down the left and almost playing in Foden but Newcastle keep them at bay, for now.
77 mins: City substitution: the excellent Doku is replaced by Oscar Bobb.
76 mins: Isak wins a free-kick on the left, forcing a foul from Akanji with his trickery. The City defender is booked for his trouble. But Guimaraes can’t clear the first head with his ball in and the danger is averted.
74 mins: The rain’s falling hard on a humdrum game now, but Newcastle’s fans continue to make a hell of a racket, as you should on a big Cup away day. Almiron is this close to getting clear on the left, but he’s just inside the City half, and thus offside.
73 mins: Now they don’t, as Murphy sparks a Newcastle attack down the right, and Miley feeds Guimaraes who then overhits a pass out right and the chance has gone.
72 mins: City have had the ball constantly since my last blog entry.
69 mins: Almiron’s shown his worth to this Newcastle side instantly – they’ve got more of a spring in their step now, but the problem is they’re playing an utterly unruffled opponent. The odds remain stacked against them.
Updated
66 mins: Newcastle liven up, Almiron does brilliantly after dispossessing Bernardo Silva, racing in from the left, feeding Isak whose well placed to score but he makes a hash of his first touch, and his weak shot is deflected wide for a corner that is headed over. Immensely frustrating for Howe’s side, that.
65 mins: Almiron is busy early on the left, twisting and turning and feeding Hall but City get back to muzzle the danger.
64 mins: Foden wins possession and tees up. Haaland for another marauding run and shot deflected wide for a corner. City’s rhythm unchanged by their opponents’ mass substitutions.
62 mins: A flurry of Newcastle subs: Almiron, Hall, Anderson, Miley are all on. Willock, Burn, Willock and Gordon off. Can they shake anything up?
58 mins: Pass, pass, pass, then Dias bursts through into the area. It’s worked back out wide on the right to Walker whose teasing cross is – just – grasped by Dubravka at the second attempt. That was good, brave goalkeeping.
In the world of actual football jeopardy, Fulham are giving Spurs a bit of a going-over:
56 mins: Newcastle make a right mess of a promising attack: Isak collects a gorgeous lofted pass from Guimaraes, holds it up, moves inside and then feeds Dan Burn on the left, but his first touch is heavy and indecisive when he should have just shot.
54 mins: Space opens up again for City, when Rodri robs Guimaraes and piles down the right and sees a shot deflected for a corner, which Dubravka punches clear under pressure but City come again, Newcastle can’t clear – or won’t clear, this is sloppy – and a shot from Gvardiol is deflected for yet another corner. Which comes to nothing.
If anything, this is even more one-sided now.
52 mins: Haaland forages through the middle, having been relatively quiet. He goes it alone, frightening the defenders in front of him, and curls narrowly wide with his left foot.
“Is it just me or are the advertising hoarding just too distractingly big?” asks Manoah Jones. Yes, they are, and they’re a constant intrusion when you’re at a match. I hate them. “Meanwhile on the field the Pep machine keeps grinding all and sundry into a fine dust with zero jeopardy. A really enjoyable watch.” Up to a point. But what is the purpose of football without jeopardy.
49 mins: More sustained City possession follows the corner though Newcastle at least push them back, but yer Fodens, Rodris and Gvardiols are so assured in tight spaces and the ball stays in blue possession for another couple of minutes until Newcastle win a throw deep in their own half, which is scarcely respite.
48 mins: City continue as they left off and eventually work an opportunity when Gvardiol and Foden play in Doku on the left and his firm shot is palmed behind for a corner.
Updated
46 mins: Newcastle restart things. I don’t think there’s been any subs. More as we get it.
The players are back out …
Meanwhile in the Premier League, Fulham are beating Spurs:
Here’s that second City goal:
Another deflection, another Bernardo Silva goal! 😮#BBCFootball #FACup pic.twitter.com/4pPW9nL8AU
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) March 16, 2024
Newcastle actually looked decent for the first 10 minutes, pressing and keeping their shape, but once City’s relentless probing unlocked them, it became a lot more one-sided. To have any chance of beating Man City, you have to rattle them in whatever way you can and Newcastle haven’t done that. City look smooth and accomplished, as per, with Doku and Bernardo Silva in particular making things happen. This game needs a gear shift for there to be any kind of shock here. Back in a bit.
Updated
Half-time: Manchester City 2-0 Newcastle
This looks too comfortable for the holders. Dramatic tension and jeopardy wanted.
45+2 mins: A rare Haaland mistake gives Newcastle a chance to break through Willock, but he and his intended pass-recipient, Isak, each make a hash of the opportunity, it gets tangled off the latter’s backheel and the danger is averted.
45 mins: They nearly score from that too, but Dias'’s header is too close to the keeper. We’ll have two added minutes.
Updated
44 mins: Another chance for Doku, getting clear of Lascelles on the inside-left and Dubravka does well to come out and push it behind for yet another corner …
42 mins: And still they come. City nearly score another deflected goal as Doku cuts in and his shot is flicked behind by Botman. The corner is punched clear for another one, which is headed behind again by Burn …
Updated
41 mins: NAnother chance for City. Foden takes the ball on the inside-left, turns and muscles his way through with strength and elegance but Guimaraes does well to stay with him and force him to hurry his shot over.
40 mins: “Two-nil and you still don’t sing,” chorus the Newcastle fans trying to keep spirits up. But on the pitch City continue to dominate possession, calm and unruffled as you like.
37 mins: Doku gives Newcastle’s defence another headache as he shimmies past two players before thwacking it into Row Z. Nonetheless, he’s dazzling once again.
36 mins: Newcastle pick up a loose pass from Ortega, who then reedeems himself with a fine block from Isak, when the cross from Murphy is headed back to him brilliantly by Burn. His left-foot shot on the rise is firm and kept down but straight at the keeper. Newcastle’s best chance so far.
Updated
34 mins: This hasn’t been a high-intensity mauling yet City are well on their way to another emphatic win. Newcastle have had their moments but they’re feeding off scraps compared to their opponents. Howe might have to switch things around again.
A characteristically confident lengthy spell of probing and passing ends with City working it out right again, Bernardo Silva has too much space, he moves inside and his left-foot shot hits Botman’s head, wrongfoots Dubravka and it’s in the net.
Goal! Manchester City 2-0 Newcastle (Silva 31)
Another, possibly deflected, goal has City firmly in control
Updated
30 mins: Haaland gets a fierce header in from the corner but Lascelles heads clear and Newcastle break through Willock, and a high ball over for Isak on the right is overhit. He had Gordon to his inside and might have been better off finding him.
29 mins: Brilliant from Doku again, jinking in from halfway on the inside left, Lascelles hauls him down and is booked. A high-stakes tactical foul. “A yellow for something proper,” as Danny Murphy thunders on commentary. The free-kick is headed behind for a corner.
27 mins: Foden gets some space in his No 10 position but blooters horribly over. He’s human after all. Newcastle’s fans are at least winning the noise contest – they’ve not shut up all game.
26 mins: NMore keep-ball involving the lively Doku, Haaland, Gvardiol and Foden, then worked right to Bernardo Silva and Rodri. But Newcastle match them for patience and Gordon wins it back on halfway and a spell of Newcastle possession ends with Murphy skipping clear on the right but his low cross is too close to Ortega. Better from them.
23 mins: More City prewssure on the right as Silva feeds Walker whose low cross is cleared by Schar, but they’re definitely targeting Newcastle’s left, and finding plenty of encouragement.
21 mins: A quick free-kick finds Isak in the box and though City regroup, Newcastle retain possession and win a corner on the right – which comes to nothing after it’s delivered long and a flag goes up for offside.
19 mins: Gordon gets his first chance to have a run at the defence, in the inside-left. He thinks his cross has been deflected for a corner but a goalkick is given, to the whistling chagrin of the travelling fans behind that goal.
18 mins: Newcastle need to just stay in the game at the moment, because after a perky start they’re completely on the back foot. They do break down the right but Ortega clears with his head. City come again and Schar is then booked for going through the back of Haaland but it looks as if he got the ball.
15 mins: We’re back to more conventional attack v defence now, and Kovacic lobs into the box for Haaland but Dubravka comes out and gathers.
“G’Day Tom,” writes Chris Paraskevas, “Another 4:00am alarm for an only-one-outcome FA Cup Funeral procession - with the absence of all hope, this is slightly more familiar territory for Toon Fans after the meteoric / fever dream of last season. It’s quite nice of KDB to abstain this morning but it’s not as if Pep is lacking in alternatives. At least Eddie has the good sense to line up with a back five, though only Schar has played with any semblence of consistency this season. It’s incredible how quickly Newcastle’s defensive solidity has evaporated in such a short space of time.
I would say EH needs to find a solution quickly, but will he still be in the job if his team get hammered* tonight? *Lose heavily, not end up vomiting outside Hacienda at 4:32 am...” The Hacienda’s all offices now Chris anyway, nowhere safe for a man to vomit these days.
City’s first period of sustained probing pays off, breaking down the right, where they’ve been targeting the oft-maligned Burn, Bernardo exposes Willock’s narrow positioning , forcing Burn to get tight on Silva, whose effort spins off Burn and deflects into the corner.
Goal! Manchester City 1-0 Newcastle (Bernardo Silva 13)
Not sure whether this is an own goal or not, it took a strong deflection off Burn
Updated
10 mins: City suddenly have a three-on-two break with Doku piling through the middle, but his pass doesn’t find Foden – more fine defending from Botman – and Newcastle break back but Guimaraes (I think) is offside. It’s opening up.
8 mins: Lovely work from Rodri, feeding Foden in tight spaces, who plays Doku through but Murphy does really well to stay with him and see it through to the keeper.
6 mins: City’s first outbreak of trademark fluency culminates in a low ball in from the right from Foden for Haaland but Lascelles hoys it clear.
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5 mins: Haaland wins a cheap free-kick, going down just after halfway under Botman’s clumsy wrestle, but Newcastle again do a decent job of defending it with a high press and City are forced right back to their own area, and Newcastle win possession, Murphy teasing in a delicate curling cross from the right that Dias just manages to cut out. Isak would have been in if he hadn’t. Promising from Newcastle.
3 mins: It looks as if Newcastle are configured with five at the back after all – their fans are making a hell of a racket, but their teams are defending at the moment, that back five doing its job and compressing the space.
1 mins: An early fumble gives Newcastle an attacking throw, but City swiftly win it back, and Doku slaloms into the area before the visitors clear for a throw.
Updated
Peep! And Man City get us under way, attacking the north end.
Out come the teams. There are 8,000 Newcastle fans in the away end, and the atmosphere is bubbling up …
Eddie Howe speaks: “Since I’ve come [cup competitions] have been a motivation, we’re determined to try and end that wait for a trophy. Last year we came very close and our motivation is to get to Wembley again but we know we have one of the best teams in the world in our way. Three games with City this season have been tight – we have posed them problems and they’ve posed us problems obviously. I believe with the players we have, we can do that. [Gordon being fir] is a big lift for us because he’s brought his best performances for us this season – he’s 100% fit, he trained for two days no problems.”
Newcastle look to have set out positively anyhow, with what looks like a 3-4-2-1, with Isak up top.
Some brief pre-match words from Pep. Asked if he enjoys this business end of the season, the City manager replies: “If you’re in contention for titles then yes, but not if you’re not. The motivation [beyond reaching six semi-finals in a row] is working out how to beat Newcastle, and there have been some very tight games against them in recent seasons.”
A reminder that this tie will go to extra-time and penalties if the scores are level here, which will delight my print colleagues on tight deadlines.
This isn’t the only televised 5.30pm kick-off – TV deals being what they are. Fulham v Spurs is on the other side. Dip in here:
A tense finale to some of Saturday’s 3pm games, with Luton getting a vital late equaliser against Nottingham Forest. Our man Smyth is across that and plenty more on Clockwatch duty.
Pre-match reading
Will Unwin on Stefan Ortega, City’s cup specialist:
And Louise Taylor on Eddie Howe’s current travails at Newcastle:
The teams
Manchester City: Ortega, Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Kovacic, Bernardo, Foden, Doku, Haaland Subs: Carson, Stones, Ake, Grealish, Alvarez, Gomez, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis
Newcastle: Dubravaka, Murphy, Schar, Lascelles, Botman, Burn, Bruno, Longstaff, Willock, Gordon, Isak. Subs: Karius, Dummett, Ritchie, Targett, Krafth, Hall, Almiron, Anderson, Miley.
So Gordon is fit to start, which will be a much-needed boost for Newcastle. He’s been excellent lately.
Preamble
Evening everyone. Well, this clash of petro-state funded heavyweights will have to go some to match the earlier drama in the West Midlands, but let’s hope it rises to the challenge as Manchester City’s double-treble hunters take on a Newcastle side battling uneven recent form and a historically atrocious FA Cup record. This is only the Toon’s third FA Cup quarter-final in the past 19 years, with teams ranging from Cambridge and Sheffield Wednesday to Arsenal and City having sent them packing in recent times, while readers with longer memories will recall their insipid non-performances in the finals of 1998 and 1999 (not to mention 1974), and the fact they’ve not won the old pot since 1955. So no pressure, guys.
This is, however, Newcastle’s biggest match of the season and they and their fans should be bang up for this. “We’ll have a right go,” roared Eddie Howe in yesterday’s presser though he is again hampered by injury worries, most recently to the new England call-up Anthony Gordon, who is a doubt for today. And Howe himself is under pressure as his side struggle to rediscover the intensity and identity they showed last season.
City, for their part, will be without Kevin de Bruyne while Ederson is ruled out after injuring himself amid the bedlam of last Sunday’s rollicking draw at Liverpool (though Stefan Ortega is their go-to man for Cup games anyway, such are their luxuries of choice). And City haven’t lost an FA Cup tie away from Wembley for six years, when they lost at Wigan’s DW Stadium.
So yeah, Pep Guardiola’s side are sizeable favourites, but it’s the Cup, right, and as we’ve seen a little more than usual this season, upsets and magic can still happen. Don’t go anywhere.
Kick-off 5.30pm GMT.
