NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, England — Newcastle United qualified for the Carabao Cup semifinals for the first time since 1976 as second-half goals from Dan Burn and Joelinton sealed a 2-0 quarterfinal win on Tuesday against Leicester at St. James’ Park.
A man of the match performance by Leicester goalkeeper Danny Ward had threatened to frustrate Newcastle and take the game to penalties, but Burn’s and Joelinton’s goals won the tie to keep alive hopes of a first domestic trophy for the Magpies since 1955.
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Rapid reaction
1. Howe has Newcastle edging closer to glory
Newcastle are closing in on their first major final since 1999 and the club’s transformation under manager Eddie Howe is taking a giant leap forward with their Carabao Cup quarterfinal win against Leicester. Burn’s first goal for the club opened the scoring on 60 minutes before Joelinton made the game safe with Newcastle’s second 12 minutes later.
The result led to lengthy celebrations by the home fans whose desperate wait for success stretches back to the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (now the Europa League) back in 1969. In terms of domestic silverware, the 1955 FA Cup is the last to grace the Newcastle’s trophy cabinet.
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But with Newcastle also chasing a top-four finish in the Premier League, progression to a cup semifinal is a huge testament to the work done by Howe since his appointment in November 2021. When he arrived at the club, Newcastle were fighting against relegation, but since then, the former Bournemouth boss has turned the team into one of the most consistent in the Premier League
Howe has also transformed the fortunes of several players, including Joelinton and Miguel Almiron in particular, who were regarded as expensive flops before Howe took charge. Both are now in form and crucial figures in the team. And Howe has also worked wonders in the transfer market by signing the likes of Burn, Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, Nick Pope and Sven Botman.
With Newcastle now backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and poised to keep pace with other top clubs financially, it seems inevitable that success will become the norm in the years ahead.
But right now, the Magpies are at the foothills of their journey, and Howe’s work has been the most significant factor in their rise. They are now eyeing up a Wembley final, with only a semifinal standing between them and the Carabao Cup final.
2. Vardy nears the end, but remains irreplaceable for Leicester
Jamie Vardy missed two clear chances to drag Leicester back into this quarterfinal after coming on a second-half substitute, but the former England forward still did more during his brief spell on the pitch than the rest of Leicester’s forwards.
At 35, Vardy is nearing the end of his incredible career. His story — a non-league striker who was given a late chance in the professional game — is rare in the modern era, and he has squeezed every last drop out of his opportunity in the big time.
But the man whose goals helped Leicester win the 2015-16 Premier League title has scored just once this season, and he can no longer count on being part of the starting team.
Vardy’s pace isn’t what it was and injuries have started to impact his fitness, but Leicester have tried and failed for years now to find a long-term replacement.
Kelechi Iheanacho has done well since arriving from Manchester City, but not to the level of Vardy, while Patson Daka is nowhere near the standard of the former fairground worker who became the first £1 million non-league player when he left Fleetwood Town for Leicester in 2012.
Vardy will go down as Leicester’s greatest-ever player, but the sands of time are beginning to run out.
3. St. James’ Park is a sizzling cauldron once again
Newcastle’s St. James’ Park has always had a reputation as one of the noisiest and most hostile stadiums in England — but for much of the past decade, it had become a soulless ground populated by unhappy fans during the barren years of Mike Ashley’s ownership of the club.
Fans began to drift away and, towards the end of the Ashley era, those supporters that did turn up vowed not to wave banners or flags until the club had new owners.
But since the Saudi Arabia-led takeover at the start of last season and a change in the club’s ambitions, the match-day experience at St. James’ has been transformed.
