There were two huge moments in Newcastle United's 2022-23 season. While qualfiying for the Champions League in May takes some beating, the Carabao Cup final in February was their chance to actually lift a trophy.
Of course, Manchester United spoilt the party on the day, but it only whetted the appetite for future success. Those Trafalgar Square scenes need to become commonplace, but this season showed the Magpies are on the right track.
A minor wobble in the league needed addressing as spring dawned but, as usual, Eddie Howe's side responded.
February
Newcastle United started February knowing that the club would be heading back to Wembley for a major final for the first time since 1999 with the city bouncing after the Magpies beat Southampton 3-1 on aggregate in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
Not since United lost 2-0 to Manchester United 24 years earlier in the FA Cup had fans tasted a trip to Wembley, but a new generation of supporters were about to experience the bitter taste of defeat in similar circumstances. However, there was still plenty of work to be getting on with in the Premier League before we could start thinking about Wembley Way or Trafalgar Square.
Eddie Howe was desperate for United not to be distracted in the run-up to the big day, but unfortunately there were late winter nerves on Tyneside as West Ham became the first visitors to St James’ Park this month. Things started well enough as Callum Wilson blasted the Magpies ahead after just three minutes on a chilly day at St James’.
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But the lead only lasted until the 32nd minute when Newcastle failed to clear their lines from a corner and Lucas Paqueta fired home to make it 1-1. Newcastle pushed hard for a winner but had to settle for a point, with Howe saying: “If you can’t win, don’t lose and we’ve done that very well.”
A week later, United fans travelled to face AFC Bournemouth on February 11 on the South Coast and, while the Cherries may have been haunted by relegation, they put up an almighty fight and even had the audacity to take the lead. Marcos Senesi scored a carbon copy of West Ham’s goal a week later as Newcastle once again failed to clear their lines from a corner!
Miguel Almiron struck back with a well-taken goal after he’d followed up a Sean Longstaff shot to equalise in first half stoppage time. Newcastle were hanging on in the second half and had to settle for a point, but they remained in fourth place in the Premier League table.
It was clear that United’s first appearance at the home of English football for a major final in 24 years was proving a distraction and supporters knew it. This became even more clear in the next Premier League encounter as Liverpool arrived at St James’ with their own dreams of Champions League football still intact.
Things were already going wrong with 10 minutes on the clock as Darwin Nunez opened the scoring in front of the Gallowgate End. That lead was doubled through Cody Gapko in the 17th minute as Liverpool looked in danger of running up a frightening scoreline.
With nerves jangling and players concerned about being involved on the big day, Nick Pope made the decision to rush out of his goal and was issued with a red card that would deny him one of the biggest days of his career at Wembley. The red card resulted in a goalkeeping crisis ahead of the final with Martin Dubravka cup-tied and Loris Karius and Mark Gillespie the only stoppers available to Howe for Wembley.
The 2-0 loss to Liverpool showed further evidence of Wembley nerves and left Newcastle just two points ahead of Spurs in the Champions League race.
And so on to Wembley and the big one against Manchester United for the right to lift the Carabao Cup for the first time ever.
The build-up to Wembley had included a media day at the training ground with Howe, quarter-final hero Dan Burn, semi-final hero Sean Longstaff and skipper Kieran Trippier all put up for interviews. Pope had been scheduled to face the journalists, but his red card saw him replaced at the last minute by Burn.
The truth was, Newcastle players were just desperate to get on with preparations for Wembley and the day couldn’t come quick enough. However, the intensity was beginning to grow and the nerves showed on the players as they were roared into the hotel late on the eve of the game.
Players then had what felt like an agonising wait for the game to start with a 4.30pm kick-off and fans encamped around the Wembley hotel. Once the game got under way, Newcastle put up a decent early fight and were unlucky not to take the lead through Allan Saint-Maximin.
But a sloppy six-minute spell saw Casemiro and Marcus Rashford score twice before the break, leaving Newcastle with a mountain to climb under the famous Wembley arch. Inevitably, that deficit proved too much for the Magpies and while Jacob Murphy came close to a consolation with a shot that whistled past the post, it simply wasn’t to be for Newcastle.
The Wembley experience had been an invaluable one and United fans backed their team all the way.
You can only hope that the Carabao Cup run, Wembley Way, Trafalgar Square and everything that came with it will be the just first of many exciting days in the capital as Newcastle look to bag that elusive first trophy under Saudi-backed ownership.
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March
For the first time in the season, Newcastle United entered March with something to prove. While Premier League games had been few and far between thanks to their Carabao Cup efforts, the Magpies had not won in the league since January.
What’s more, the goals had dried up.
There was no sense of crisis at the club – far from it. Indeed, United started the month in fifth place in the Premier League table, but after disappointing draws with Crystal Palace and Bournemouth – and the defeat to Liverpool – Eddie Howe’s side was looking for a spark to perhaps reignite its season.
This was the time when the success of the campaign could well be determined. Would it ‘just’ be the next step following the survival of 12 months earlier, as everyone had initially expected, or was this side capable of going beyond the pre-season hopes?
Either way, as United licked their wounds from the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester United, they knew March would start with probably the toughest test of all. Newcastle had gone to the Etihad at the end of the 2021-22 season and lost 5-0 in a game which underlined just how far they had to go before they could compete with the Premier League’s elite.
Just a few short months later they had drawn 3-3 in a thrilling St James’ Park encounter in which they had led 3-1. City were closing down on Arsenal at the top of the table and while the result may have been no surprise, United’s performance at least showed they had significantly closed the gap.
Few sides come away from the blue half of Manchester with anything to show for their efforts and United were no exception, losing 2-0 to make it four Premier League games without a win – but while Pep Guardiola’s side was just about worthy of the win, things could have been very different.
Phil Foden opened the scoring for City in the first half, cutting through the backline a little too easily and seeing his close-range shot deflected in by Sven Botman’s outstretched leg.
Yet United really should have been at least level, if not ahead, by the time Bernardo Silva added a second on 67 minutes. Sean Longstaff was denied by an excellent block from Nathan Ake in the first half before Callum Wilson uncharacteristically swiped at a Kieran Trippier knockdown following a flowing team move.
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Joelinton then had United’s best chance, but he could not connect with Joe Willock’s cross when unmarked just outside the six-yard box. That City were happy to run the clock down near the corner flag in the dying stages said a lot about Newcastle’s performance on the day – even if the result was not what they needed.
It meant they really needed to claim three points when Wolves came to St James’ Park in the middle of the month with an international break meaning they had just one more game –away to Nottingham Forest – ahead of what would be a hectic April.
Julen Lopetegui had managed to guide Wolves away from the relegation zone after a difficult first half of the season and they made life tough for Howe’s men at St James’. Following a difficult spell, Callum Wilson found himself on the bench, with Alexander Isak preferred in the central striking role, and it did not take the Swede long to show it was a job he could handle.
Newcastle had been the better side in the opening period but had survived a key moment when Raul Jimenez latched on to a back pass and went down under a challenge from Nick Pope. However, this time there was to be no early bath for the United goalkeeper, the referee Andy Madley feeling the Wolves striker was not in control of the ball.
United did get the goal they deserved when Isak rose highest to head Kieran Trippier’s free-kick past Jose Sa to ease any fears among the home crowd. They could have increased that lead when Dan Burn kept a long corner alive at the far past but Bruno Guimaraes’ header came back off the crossbar.
Wolves had served notice of their intent with Daniel Podence hitting the post, before Pedro Neto forced an excellent save from Pope. The match was all square when Trippier slipped as he tried to clear a loose ball to allow Hee-Chan Hwang to level the scores.
This was a game United really needed to win and it was left to the hero of the season so far to get the job done. Miguel Almiron had only been handed a bench role as Howe rotated his squad but after replacing Allan Saint-Maximin midway through the second half took little time to make his impact.
Joe Willock did superbly well to find the Paraguayan in the box and he smashed home past Sa to give United a 2-1 win and put them back on track.
March 17 saw the final game of the month – and United were desperate to build on that Wolves win and sign off for the international break on a high. Nottingham Forest may have been battling at the bottom end of the table for most of the season but the City Ground was something of a stronghold and a raucous Friday night crowd was a big test of Newcastle’s determination.
Yet if there were any doubts they were up for the battle – both on the night and in the Premier League as a whole – United dismissed them with a dominant performance. It may have only been a 2-1 win, sealed thanks to a late Isak penalty, but Howe’s side was at its rampant best for much of the game and could have come away with a much greater margin of victory.
The win was achieved from a losing position too. A rare Sven Botman error allowed Emmanuel Dennis to open the scoring with an impressive finish very much against the run of play.
This Magpies’ side does not get flustered, though, despite two efforts hitting the crossbar and Willock’s far post effort flashing narrowly over. As half-time approached, Saint-Maximin and Willock combined down the right before the latter crossed for Isak to score with a sublime finish.
The ball appeared to be behind the Swede but he somehow reached back to volley home and restore parity.
However, it looked as though United’s second-half onslaught was going to be in vain. Elliot Anderson’s first goal for the club was ruled out for an offside decision earlier in the move and the Magpies pressed for a goal which just wouldn’t come. With time running out, Moussa Niakhate inexplicably used his hand to stop a deep cross to give United the chance to seal it from the pot.
As the City Ground boiled, Isak stayed calm – with the help of a few Trippier mind games – to blast home past Keylor Navas and give Newcastle a huge three points. It set United up for what would be a momentous April as things were about to get even better.
