Rovers narrowly missed out on confirming their place in the 4th round of the FA Cup, after a late Matt Richie penalty, saw the hosts earn a replay, despite Tony Mowbray’s men giving a good account of themselves at a tense St. James’ Park.
Prior to the affair, Mowbray made just a single change to his starting lineup for the game in the North-East, with Craig Conway starting ahead of Harrison Reed, who found himself on the bench. Adam Armstrong was also part of the 11 who started, which saw the ex-Newcastle man play against his supported team for the first time.
With 2,989 Rovers fans housed in the top section of the Leazes Stand, it was Bradley Dack who started the game from the kick-off, as the Yellows looked to build on their brilliant New Year’s Day victory at home to West Bromwich Albion.
It took only 3 minutes of the game for Rovers’ backline to be tested, as on-loan Chelsea man, Kenedy, used his pace well to try and get beyond Rovers’ backline, however the away sides’ skipper, Charlie Mulgrew, was well positioned to make a superb sliding tackle on the edge of the box to deny the Brazilian access to the penalty area.
A minute later, the Magpies had their first attempts as Jacob Murphy had a shot blocked, before centre-back Florian Lejeune tried his luck from 30-yards out, however he saw his show drag well wide of David Raya’s goal, as Rovers were awarded a goal-kick.
After a succession of unsuccessful Rovers corners, Newcastle countered and got one of their own, which led to the best chance of the game thus far. Matt Richie’s corner saw Raya forced into double saves from Joselu and Kenedy, prior to him making it a hattrick of stops by holding onto Fabian Schär’s header towards goal.
On the 12th minute Rovers had their first real chance of the game, after some previous corners had failed to produce an attempt at goal. Craig Conway’s high press on the right-hand side allowed him to win back possession off Richie, before putting in a cross that saw Dack dummy and Danny Graham shoot. Although the idea was a good one, the finish was not, as Toon ‘keeper Freddie Woodman was easily able to claim Graham’s scuffed effort.
A couple of minutes later, Murphy used his pace well to get through Rovers’ defence, before releasing a shot which Raya, again held comfortably.
On the 29th minute, Newcastle again came close to breaking the deadlock, as Matt Richie’s shot from the Toon’s counter-attack was parried by Raya into the path of Joselu, who saw his shot superbly blocked behind for a corner, by the retreating Elliott Bennett. The resulting corner saw Lejeune head wide, as Rovers again withstood heavy pressure.
With half-an-hour gone, Rovers earnt a wide free-kick which gave Charlie Mulgrew the perfect opportunity to hit an in-swinging delivery. The subsequent cross, although threatening, eluded Dack’s boot, as the ball comfortably curled into the hands of Woodman.
After 38 minutes of play, Rovers again came close to opening the scoring, after Bradley Dack’s volley from just inside the area flew over the bar.
4 minutes after Dack’s attempt, Lenihan had one of his own, but he too, missed the target.
With half-time looming, Rovers earnt another corner which could have seen them head into the break with an advantage. Mulgrew launched in another fine delivery, however despite both Dack and Lenihan queueing up at the back-post, neither were able to get the touch that would have put Rovers ahead, as Newcastle were awarded a goal-kick.
Following the single minute of added time that referee Kevin Friend allocated, the half-time whistle was soon blown, which ended a half that could have seen either side find the back of the net.
With the break in full flow, Rafa Benítez’s reaction to the first-half he had just witnessed, would have been far from calm, as his side had failed to gain, both, a strong hold on the tie and the goal advantage, despite having a couple of good chances to take the lead, such as the efforts from Joselu and Murphy. The Spaniard would have been fuming at his players, following their poor defensive effort which allowed Rovers to break through their backline, on more than a couple of occasions.
Tony Mowbray, meanwhile, would have been pleased with the first-half display that his side had put in, because they remained on the front-foot and rarely looked scared of Newcastle, when the Toon flurried forwards. The Rovers boss would have no doubt praised the players, at half-time, and also given them encouragement that they could go on and win the game, if they continued to produce the standards that they showed during the first 45 minutes.
The game was soon restarted by the home side who were looking to improve on their home form this season, which – in the league – had seen them hold a record of 2 wins, 1 draw and 8 losses.
3 minutes into the half, Richie and Murphy combined well, but the latter’s shot from the former’s cross was poor, as he skied the ball into the Gallowgate End.
On the 53rd minute, Lewis Travis picked up the ball on halfway and drove towards goal. With Adam Armstrong, Bradley Dack and Danny Graham all making runs ahead of him, the youngster picked out Dack, whose first touch let him down, as Schär was able to get back and put a foot in, which unsteadied the number 23. Although Dack tried to square the ball to Graham, the slight deflection off Jamie Sterry allowed Woodman to pounce on the ball and defuse the attack.
The breakthrough on the night did soon arrive however, as on the 56th minute, Bradley Dack notched his 13th of the season as he headed Rovers into a well-deserved lead, following a pre-rehearsed set-piece routine. Mulgrew’s free-kick from just inside the Newcastle half was laid off to Bennett, who took a touch before delivering in a pinpoint cross which allowed Dack to run and powerfully head it beyond Woodman to make it 1-0, as he sent the near-3,000 Rovers fans in the top tier behind the goal, wild.
Directly after the goal, Benítez reacted with his first change of the evening, as he introduced Jonjo Shelvey, in place of Isaac Hayden.
The England international was in the thick of the action straight away, as mere minutes after coming on, he got on the end of Richie’s corner with a header of his own, however David Raya was alert enough to hold onto the ball.
On the 64th minute, Rovers nearly had their lead doubled, but for the good positioning of Newcastle full-back, Javier Manquillo. A deep Craig Conway corner, was flicked on before landing at an unmarked Mulgrew, at the back-post, who hit a sweet scissor kick towards goal. The ball looked destined to nestle into the back of the net, however Manquillo was there to head the ball off the line, as he kept his side in the tie.
Shelvey, again, on the 66th minute, nearly got Newcastle level, however saw his second header of the game denied by a seemingly unstoppable David Raya. After Raya’s save – and despite penalty shouts from the home players – Rovers had to keep Lejeune and Schär out, as Danny Graham was well-positioned on the line to deny the latter, the equaliser.
Newcastle’s next chance came on the 68th minute, through Richie, who tried his luck from just outside the penalty area, but saw his shot deflect into the side-netting for a corner, which came to nothing.
Rovers, with 70 minutes gone, made their first alteration of the evening as local lad Adam Armstrong departed the field – to a heart-warming round of applause from the Geordie faithful – as he was replaced by midfield engine, Harrison Reed.
4 minutes later, Newcastle made their second change as Christian Atsu came on for Josh Murphy.
Following a spell of pressure by Rovers, the 79th minute saw Danny Graham’s departure, as he made way for newly signed Ben Brereton. Simultaneously, Newcastle made their final change of the evening as Ayoze Pérez was brought on in-place of Sean Longstaff.
Pérez’s impact was imminent, as he earnt his side a free-kick within shooting distance, just seconds after coming on. The set-piece was struck towards goal by Lejeune, whose effort ballooned over the crossbar.
The Spanish substitute’s mark on the game did not end there however, as on the 83rd minute, he earnt his side a penalty after he was fouled in the box – although softly – by Corry Evans, who tried to poke the ball out of Pérez’s path, but ended up making contact with the forward. The subsequent spot-kick was taken by the Magpies’ captain, Matt Richie, and was duly converted as he slotted the ball home, into the bottom right-hand corner of Raya’s net, to level the scoring at 1-1.
Tony Mowbray’s final change of the evening came seconds after Richie had equalised, as Bradley Dack was removed and replaced by Derrick Williams, which saw Rovers revert to a 5-4-1 system, with substitute Williams dropping in alongside Lenihan and Mulgrew.
Although Newcastle cranked up the pressure during the closing stages, 5 minutes of added time was called for by Kevin Friend, as Rovers held on valiantly, with the help of more brilliant saves by David Raya, to earn a replay, as the final whistle soon blew to end, what was a fantastic cup tie.
This performance, it can be fair to say – barring the penalty – was nothing but positive from the fans’ perspective, as the 2,989 Rovers fans – myself included amongst them – got to see their team battle against – regardless of their line-up – a Premier League side, which, following on from the tough festive fixture schedule, was never going to be an easy task. For long spells in the game, Rovers looked as if they were the Premier League outfit, as they freely attacked and got in the faces of the Newcastle players in order to show that they were capable of competing against players of high quality.
As mentioned, Newcastle’s team was not ‘full strength’, however the reality is, is that they’re all still Premier League players, regardless of whether they play week in, week out for the Magpies. Despite nearly 33,000 home fans, a lot of them, especially on social media, were critical of how their side approached the game, with many stating that they would have rather exited the competition, in order to concentrate on the league. Furthermore, both the Rovers players and fans received many compliments from the Geordies on social media, as they expressed their amazement at the way the away side played at St. James’ with no fear.
It would be impossible to conclude this article without mentioning the travelling support, all of whom were in full voice throughout the whole 90 minutes and received numerous praises from the Rovers players on social media and Tony Mowbray during his interviews with various outlets. The 2,989 supporters who made the journey to Tyneside were given a performance that they could be proud of, despite the late kick in the teeth from the penalty spot. Another positive from this performance, was the defensive efforts of the side, as despite the unfortunate penalty, which can be somewhat forgiven, Rovers refused to go down against some late pressure by Newcastle, much like they had done against Norwich City, or Leeds United, which can only spell positivity for Rovers and Tony Mowbray.
As the game ended level, there is set to be a replay, at Ewood Park, on the week commencing Monday 14th January – most likely Tuesday 15th, unless picked for television – as Rovers welcome the Magpies to Ewood Park, in order to settle the tie and see who advances to the 4th round of the competition. Additionally, the draw is set to be made on Monday 7th January, following the conclusion of the Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Liverpool tie.
Moving into the upcoming fixtures, Rovers now return their focus back on the league, where they travel to The Den, to face Millwall – live on Sky Sports – on Saturday, 12th January at 5:30pm. Following on from that game, the Newcastle replay takes place at Ewood Park, with the exact date to be confirmed in due course. After Rovers and Newcastle lock horns again, Mowbray’s men prepare to face bottom of the table, Ipswich Town at Ewood, on Saturday, 19th January at 3pm, before welcoming in-form Hull City on Saturday, 26th January, (3pm), to make it a hattrick of home games.
