Newcastle United Football Club - Match reports

21 mins: A quick counter-attack saw Josh Dacres-Cogley outpace Sean Longstaff and make it to the right hand side of the United box before playing in Elliott Nevitt to fire the League Two side ahead. 0-1

A smack in the face, a ball in the net

40 mins: Kieran Trippier's corner was met by Jamaal Lascelles at the back post. His initial headed effort was chested down by Kyle Jameson, but fell back to the Newcastle defender, who lashed the ball into the net in front of the Kop Stand.

There was a parallel with the PL goal at home to Everton back in February, when Lascelles put through his own net then within a minute was fired up enough to get his head on the ball at the other end of the field from a corner for Jonjo Shelvey to level. This time round Jamaal's sense of injustice was heightened by an unpunished smack in the face from an opponent. 1-1

Half time: Rovers 1 Magpies 1

52 mins: Having wriggled away from his marker, Chris Wood buried a near post corner from Kieran Trippier in front of the away support. 2-1

Full time: Rovers 1 Magpies 2

We Said

Eddie Howe:

"Tranmere were very good defensively and powerful. We needed to match them and we did. I’ve said repeatedly that we want to do well in the cup competitions this season. This was a test of our attitude and character and we passed it well.

"We had to really grind out the game, it was very physical with a lot of balls into our box. I think that last part of the game gives me the most pleasure.

“We will take goals however they come, they were worked on and executed well (from corner kicks).

"We would like to have created a little more from open play tonight but Tranmere made it very difficult for us. They were committed and we had to match that commitment, which we did.”

On Alexander Isak speculation:

“No, I don’t know what is going on.”

Asked how many more signings he expects in the current window:

"Difficult to put a number on it but at least one. I think we were looking at the attacking areas of the pitch. I don’t think that is a huge secret but I won’t go into anymore detail on that.”

On Krafth:

"It doesn't look good but I don't know to the extent of how bad it is but he was in a lot of pain when he came off the pitch."

They Said

Micky Mellon moaned:

"You see the levels that they (his side) can hit, so we had every right to be disappointed with them after the game (defeat at Newport the previous Saturday), when we came together again on Monday we went through it all again because we know the qualities that they have.

"It is a young team in terms of experience and games like tonight will be massive in building forward with their careers. We're just building something, that's what we keep saying to everybody, it's a building job.

"Of course, everybody wants and expects much, much more, but we know at the football club that the players that we brought in were going to have to have time to grow and you've seen from the performance this evening that they're definitely going in the right direction.

"Now we just have to find the consistency, which is with experience learning what the game is asking and being good at it.

"I could not fault them this evening, they deserve a lot of praise that should come their way, but we have to go again on Saturday and show the same qualities. Of course, the game will be different but it's the way you attack the asks of the game with the attitude that they showed tonight. (That's) what they've got to get better at.

"It's something we can now refer back to and say, well, remember when we played Newcastle, the asks of the game, how you attacked them, how you were good at them and how you tried to find a way back into the game against a really good team.

"So, only praise, but we will be back in at them again and keep them moving forward on a learning curve."

On Newcastle's first goal:

"There’s a blatant block on my centre-back. We told the referee, we told the fourth official, we told the linesman, and we’re undone by a block at the back post for their equaliser.

"It is disappointing and a bit naive from the referee, because anybody in football would have seen what happened was a blatant block.

"He (Elliot Anderson) comes to my centre-back, puts his hands on him, blocks him, allows the guy (Jamaal Lascelles) to come in at the back post and he gets a free header. He (the referee) doesn’t see it.

“The referees have got to get better - these are important evenings for my players and they’ve got to get it right.It’s a blatant block, nobody can tell me different.

“I have been in football since I was 16; I seen the block, I seen it coming. I seen him (Anderson) going to my centre-back, both his hands around him, coming from the edge of the box.

“He blocks him and allows the man (Lascelles) my centre-back is marking to come around the back. It is a blatant block. It is schoolboy stuff for referees not able to see that. It is disappointing, we expect referees to get decisions right.”

How Micky man; had the referee not "a bit naive" you'd have been down to nine men by half time....

Stats

NUFC - Last 10 LC away ties:

2022/23 Tranmere Rovers won 2-1 (R2)
2020/21 Brentford lost 0-1 (R5)
2020/21 Newport County won on pens (R4)
2020/21 Morecambe won 7-0 (R3)
2018/19 Nottingham Forest lost 1-3 (R2)
2016/17 Hull City lost on pens (R5)
2014/15 Spurs lost 0-4 (R5)
2014/15 Manchester City won 2-0 (R4)
2014/15 Crystal Palace won 3-2 (R3)
2014/15 Gillingham won 1-0 (R2)

Magpies @ Prenton Park - all time:

2022/23 won 2-1 (LC)
1999/00 won 3-2 (FAC)
1998/99 won 1-0 (LC)
1992/93 won 3-0 (D1)
1991/92 lost 2-3 (D2)
1991/92 drew 6-6 lost on pens (ZDS)
1938/39 won 3-0 (D2)

Full record v Tranmere Rovers:

P W D L F A

SJP 3 2 0 1 8 4

PP 3 2 0 1 8 3

League 6 4 0 2 16 7

SJP(FA) 1 1 0 0 1 0

PP 1 1 0 0 3 2

SJP(LC) 0 0 0 0 0 0

PP 2 2 0 0 3 1

PP(ZDS) 1 0 1 0 6 6

Cup 4 4 0 0 7 3

Tot 10 8 0 2 23 10

There was a competitive senior debut for the blue and gold change kit.

Chris Wood scored the third goal of his Newcastle career on the occasion of his League Cup debut for the club.

Jamaal Lascelles now has 14 goals to his name for United, this his second League Cup effort to go with nine in the PL and three in the Championship.

Karl Darlow completed a century of competitive senior league and cup appearances for Newcastle, a day short of seven years since debuting in a 4-1 League Cup home win over Northampton Town. That ton comprises of 52 PL starts, 34 in the Championship, eight in the League Cup and six in the FAC.

Waffle

The enforced change that saw Kieran Trippier replace the ailing Emil Krafth proved pivotal to United's Carabao Cup progress on Wednesday night. The influential right back was introduced after 39 minutes with United trailing 0-1, immediately injecting some crucial direction and delivery. And
within a minute his corner reached Jamaal Lascelles and he pounced to level.

Another Trippier flag kick seven minutes after the interval was then met by Chris Wood, whose firm header was enough to give Eddie Howe his maiden cup success as Newcastle manager.

United took to the field with ten changes from the side that started against Manchester City on Sunday and only Joe Willock retained, while the likes of Trippier, Joelinton, Sven Botman and Bruno Guimaraes began on the bench.

Aside from youngster Elliot Anderson, the starting line-up was stacked with experience but struggled to make any great impression on the game. Their defence was breached when a quick counter-attack saw Josh Dacres-Cogley centre for Nevitt to put the League Two side ahead.

The tie was then halted for Lascelles to receive treatment on a facial injury that footage indicated came from deliberate blow from Nevitt. In the absence of VAR and an unsympathetic referee though, the Newcastle man soon provided his own personal riposte.

Trippier's corner found Lascelles at the back post and he scored at the second attempt before requiring further intervention on his bloodied face. The whole episode prompted comparison with Justin Whittle's unpunished assault on Alan Shearer at Grimsby back in 2005 when he also found the net.

A second debatable incident involving a home player saw referee Anthony Backhouse caution Kane Hemmings after catching Karl Darlow with a late tackle in the final minute of the first period.

From behind the goal the challenge looked a viable one, but again TV replays made it evident that the home player had made a studs-up lunge that may well have earned stronger sanction in a VAR environment.

The comeback was then completed when Wood shook off his marker to bury a near post corner in front of the away fans early in the second half. The visiting striker then latched on to a Trippier pass and tried to force the ball beyond Mateusz Hewelt but wasn unable to extend his side's lead.

2-1 it remained and although Darlow wasn't tested, Rovers roused their fans with a couple of corners and some long throws into the box - the sight of towels at pitchside for ball drying evoked memories of 1990s trips here.

Attempting to keep the hosts at bay and put the tie to bed, United introduced Ł100m worth of talent in the form of Sven Botman, Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes - the former coming close to his first club goal with a powerful header tipped over following yet another Trippier corner.

On the positive side, both Matt Targett and Jamal Lewis got 45 minutes as they returned from injury - Lewis featuring for the first time in 2022 and Targett evidently needing the run out.

Jacob Murphy and Sean Longstaff may look back on this tie as a missed opportunity to stake a claim for a PL spot, while the contribution of Anderson didn't quite reflect the anticipation of the "Geordie Maradona" making a maiden competitive senior start for his hometown club.

This wasn't quite the romp that some may have expected, but a satisfactory outcome nonetheless as our unbeaten start to the season extended to four games. As more than one fellow fan observed afterwards, in previous seasons we'd probably have lost here.

Niall/Biffa