Sean Longstaff will find it difficult to top the moment he scored for Newcastle United in the Champions League. Adding to the magnitude of that moment was the fact it came at the iconic Gallowgate End of St James’ Park, a venue that hadn’t seen Champions League football for 20 years.
It also came against a stellar PSG side containing Kylian Mbappe, who have since advanced as far as the competition's Last 16. It all but sealed the game for Newcastle who went 3-0 up with Longstaff’s powerful drive past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
They eventually won the game 4-1 to record one of the greatest wins in the club’s 130+ year history. “It was a night made in heaven,” explains Longstaff to FourFourTwo.
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“Hopefully I’ll get to play in it again – you never know, football’s a strange game – but I could never experience that again. I hope the PSG match will be like Newcastle vs Barcelona [in 1997], where people still talk about that night in 15 or 20 years’ time.
“Just to walk out, hear the anthem, feel the atmosphere... I remember watching the Champions League on the telly and being a ballboy in the Europa League. Sadly the rest of the campaign didn’t quite work out but, for us, the experience of being in it was unbelievable.”
Newcastle were barely half an hour from qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages as they played AC Milan at home in their final group game. However, Eddie Howe's injury-hit team ran out of steam.
Christian Pulisic scored with 31 minutes of normal time left, before Samuel Chukwueze scored on 84 minutes as Newcastle chased the game. A draw would’ve secured a passage into the Europa League at least, but Eddie Howe’s men went for broke and left empty handed.
In reality, a draw in the previous gameweek in Paris was where the damage was done. Newcastle took the lead there, and defended bravely, but were unable to make any impact subs due to injury. Their bench comprised four teenagers, two goalkeepers and veteran Paul Dummett.
Longstaff wasn’t there to help, he was back home, injured and in The Three Sails pub in his home town of North Shields, next door to his old high school, John Spence.
“It was funny: people in the pub were FaceTiming pals who were in Paris,” he laughs. “The people in there are people I’ve known since I was five or six – people who watched me at North Shields Juniors, then watched me go to Newcastle – so I don’t get much hassle.
“Everybody wants Newcastle to win. Malcolm Macdonald watches matches in there sometimes, too, so you get to pick his brain and listen to his stories. It’s rare that I get to be a fan. Mine and my brother’s tops are on the wall in the pub as well – it’s like a home from home.”
It’s a clear indication that Longstaff hasn’t forgotten his roots, and is a fan at heart. He could’ve watched from the comfort of his house in Ponteland but preferred to meet friends and family and enjoy the occasion with other supporters who would’ve been screaming when he hit his goal in the home fixture.
They were screaming the season before when Longstaff scored twice in the League Cup final second leg vs Southampton. Both goals at the Gallowgate End again.
The local lad sent his team to their first major final in 24 years. Does he have a favourite goal, between the two vs Southampton, and the one vs Paris?
“It’s difficult to say – probably the PSG goal, because it was in the Champions League. Football is about making memories and that’s a memory I’ll have for the rest of my life."
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