Newcastle advanced to the Carabao Cup quarterfinals thanks to an own goal by Adam Smith as Eddie Howe’s team defeated Bournemouth.
The Magpies’ 1-0 triumph at St. James’ Park thanks to the Cherries captain’s 67th-minute tragedy gives them more confidence that they can break their domestic trophy drought, which dates back to 1955.
If the victory was deserved—the Magpies dominated for the majority of the 90 minutes in front of a supportive crowd of 51,579—it was hard-fought. Goalkeeper Nick Pope had to make saves from Dominic Solanke and Jack Stacey to maintain his clean sheet and secure a seventh straight victory.
Howe made a bold statement when he selected Pope, Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Bruno Guimaraes, and Callum Wilson as his starting lineup’s five returning World Cup heroes.
After Lewis Cook brought Joelinton back in the 13th minute, Trippier curled a free kick over, and seconds after, Sean Longstaff blasted well off target after intercepting an errant pass from Adam Smith.
As the visitors countered, Pope had to be alert to catch Kieffer Moore’s knock-down before Ryan Christie, but Pope’s opponent Mark Travers was relieved to see Schar’s piledriver go just wide of his right post in the 20th minute with no chance of getting to it.
With Bournemouth defending deep, Howe and his assistant Jason Tindall were constantly urging their team to move the ball more quickly. After 26 minutes, they believed they had taken the lead when Wilson pushed a shot past Travers, only to be met by a delayed offside flag.
The Newcastle players increased their efforts as the England forward headed a driving Trippier cross over and then fired a well-placed volley that cleared the crossbar in the 35th minute, but Travers easily stopped Guimaraes’ long-range attempt six minutes before halftime.
On the stroke of halftime, Miguel Almiron should have opened the score, but he miskicked as he met Dan Burn’s cross beyond the far post. The home team was fortunate that a deft stoppage-time combination involving Jaidon Anthony, Jordan Zemura, and Solanke ended in futility.
With Schar failing to connect with an attractive Trippier free-kick in front of goal in the opening moments of the second half, the Magpies lacked the necessary precision. They were also given a warning in the 57th minute when Moore fired a diving header over from Smith’s cross.
The game started to open up as Anthony and Zemura had more influence and Bournemouth launched a series of counterattacks, but the visitors ultimately contributed to their own demise when the deadlock was finally broken.
Despite the best efforts of teammate Marcos Senesi on the line, Smith valiantly battled in the air to keep Wilson from receiving Trippier’s cross, but ultimately only managed to head the ball into his own net.
In the final 16 minutes, Stacey put Pope to the test with a hard-hit attempt, and Travers had to dive to stop Guimaraes’ deflected effort. However, Solanke was stopped at the last second by the England goalkeeper.