29 mins Matt Ritchie's first Newcastle goal from open play as he exchanged passes with Jack Colback on the edge of the box before planting a low left foot curler into the far corner of the Gallowgate goal. 1-0

31 mins Ritchie broke free down the right and centred for Yoan Gouffran to unleash a thunderous first-time volley that flew past Lonergan from 15 yards and into the roof of the net. 2-0

Half time: Magpies 2 Wolves 0

Full time: Magpies 2 Wolves 0

Rafa said:

"It’s important for us, for the players also to feel that the competition has to be good for everyone, so they have to go on the pitch and try to do their best, it doesn’t matter the competition, it doesn’t matter the game and it doesn’t matter the position.

"That is a key factor if we want to be strong and to manage the number of games we will play this year. Obviously we want to win and we did it.

"It was a game in which we changed players, we gave an opportunity to different players and we had to win and go through, and we did it with two great goals and a clean sheet, so it’s very positive.

"I’m happy always when any player plays well, but in this case, Gouff has been working very hard from the beginning.

"He didn’t know what would happen in the future, but still he was working hard, so I am really pleased for him and he is scoring great goals now and especially from volleys, so that is good.

"To give the opportunity to some players to play who were not playing alongside players who have been playing some games, this balance was giving a little bit of match fitness and also the desire of the players top show their level, so this mix of players, I think, was good in the end.”

Wolves boss Walter Zenga:

"We made a big gift in one minute and the game was over in that one minute because of our two mistakes in defensive situations. When you make some gifts in this way, it's difficult then to come back into the game.

"Before they scored the goals, we had one great chance, unbelievable, one v one with the keeper and we missed and then in the second half, we would have had something to open up the game.

"But unfortunately, we didn't score and the game was in the hands of the home team."
 

Stats

"Talismanic" is the word now unexpectedly associated with Yoan Gouffran, whose seven outings this season (six starts) have coincided with our seven victories in all competitions. The Frenchman wasn't selected for the defeats by Fulham and Huddersfield, watching Saturday's Wolves league loss from the bench. There were debuts tonight for Daryl Murphy and Achraf Lazaar, neither of whom had appeared for the club at any level previously, including friendlies.  Aged 33 and a half, Murphy became the oldest current Magpie (longer in the tooth than 31 year- old Jesus Gamez) and our most elderly debutant since Sol Campbell aged 36 in 2010. Lazaar meanwhile is the first Moroccan-born player to appear for the club. United have now used 26 players in 10 league and cup games this season. This was the first time we'd played Wolves in this competition, our previous six pairings all coming in the FA Cup. Our last cup success over the men from Molineux came back in March 1951. The visitors hadn't failed to score against Newcastle since a 0-0 home draw in February 1991 - their blank tonight ending a run of twelve home and away games. Wolves in Toon - last 10: 2016/17: won 2-0 Ritchie, Gouffran 2016/17: lost 0-2 2011/12: drew 2-2 Cisse, Gutierrez 2010/11: won 4-1 Nolan, Shola Ameobi, Lovenkrands, Gutierrez 2003/04: drew 1-1 Bowyer 1992/93: won 2-1 Kelly 2 1991/92: lost 1-2 OG(Madden) 1990/91: drew 0-0 1989/90: lost 1-4 Brock 1982/83: drew 1-1 Wharton 1978/79: drew 1-1 Withe (FAC) Full record against Wolves:   P W D L F A SJP 42 23 10 9 96 54 M 41 6 10 25 40 81 League 83 29 20 34 136 135 SJP(FA) 2 0 2 0 3 3 M/H/LR 7 1 1 5 7 13 SJP(LC) 1 1 0 0 2 0 M 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cup 10 2 3 5 12 16 Tot 93 31 23 39 148 151 League Cup - last 10 home ties/crowds: 2006/07 Chelsea lost 0-1 (37,406) 2007/08 Barnsley won 2-0 (30,523) 2008/09 Spurs lost 1-2 (20,577) 2009/10 Huddersfield Town won 4-3 (23,815) 2010/11 Arsenal lost 0-4 (33,157) 2013/14 Leeds United won 2-0 (36,220) 2013/14 Manchester City lost 0-2 (33,846) 2015/16 Northampton Town won 4-1 (26,923) 2015/16 Sheffield Wednesday lost 0-1 (33,986) 2016/17 Cheltenham Town won 2-0 (21,972) 2016/17 Wolves won 2-0 (34,735)

Waffle

Newcastle returned to winning ways on Tuesday night, gaining swift revenge for Saturday's league defeat to Wolves by beating them in the EFL Cup at Gallowgate.

Strikes from Matt Ritchie and Yoan Gouffran in three first half minutes won the tie and although a larger margin of victory seemed likely, they were enough to secure progress into Round Four.

Making eight changes from the previous game, only messrs Ritchie, Diame and Shelvey were retained while there were debuts for Achraf Lazaar and Daryl Murphy and a first start for DeAndre Yedlin.  

Attacking the Gallowgate End, United forced a series of early corners without troubling goalkeeper Andy Lonergan but the first major chance of the evening saw Karl Darlow block a 24th minute Jed Wallace effort.

The last of what looked like a decent crowd had just taken their seats when the Magpies summoned up two fine goals to take a decisive advantage in a tie which had been played at a sluggish tempo.

First came Ritchie's first Newcastle goal from open play as he exchanged passes with Jack Colback on the edge of the box before planting a low left foot curler into the far corner of the goal in the 29th minute.

But better was to follow within 90 seconds, as Ritchie broke free down the right and centred for Gouffran to unleash a thunderous first-time volley that flew past Lonergan from 15 yards and into the roof of the net.  

The recalled Frenchman then spurned a golden chance to score again on 49 minutes, blasting wildly over from six yards after a delicate lob from Momo Diame beat the 'keeper but rebounded off the crossbar.

Colback then shot just wide after more home pressure before the visitors attempted to make a game of it and Darlow blocked a close-range strike from Ola John. Other than that though, it was easy to make a case for a Wolves side who also made eight changes being content to end their interest in this competition tonight.

The hard-working Murphy came desperately close to a debut goal in the closing moments of the tie, but couldn't keep his shot down after a tempting right wing cross from DeAndre Yedlin reached him in the area.

Order restored then after Saturday's minor calamity, with Ritchie's performance the biggest plus as he drove his side on and forced the play when others were more circumspect.  

Murphy's display meanwhile was another plus, we'd be buoyed had our Serbian counterpart put in a shift like that. After the abortive attempt at improving Mitro with a specialist striking coach last season, perhaps Daryl can impart some much-needed wisdom on the training ground.

Of the new full back pairing, debutant Lazaar may need to revisit his choice of footwear after a rain shower put a light sheen on the pitch, while DeAndre Yedlin showed some genuine pace going forward and a little composure on more mundane defensive duties - doubtless benefiting from his experience playing down the road last season and looking like he's getting up to speed. 

Perhaps the biggest decision for the manager after tonight is whether former Villan Karl Darlow could keep his spot and replace the slightly ragged Matz Sels for Saturday's league game. It remains to be seen whether our rotational policy extends to goalkeepers.

Biffa