Newcastle Edge Past Birmingham in FA Cup Nail-Biter

Joe Willock scored twice as Newcastle United fought back from an early setback to defeat third-tier Birmingham City 3-2 at St Andrew’s on Saturday, securing their spot in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Leading League One outfit Birmingham stunned their Premier League rivals, who had made nine changes to the side that triumphed over Arsenal midweek to advance to the League Cup final, when Ethan Laird found the net from the very first corner of the match just 40 seconds in.

In a charged and action-packed first half, Willock equalised under controversial circumstances.

After goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell parried his shot, the assistant referee signalled that the ball had crossed the line. With VAR not in play at this stage of the competition, the goal was allowed to stand.

Just five minutes later, Callum Wilson slotted home to put Newcastle ahead 2-1, but Birmingham struck back in the 40th minute with a stunning long-range effort from Tomoki Iwata that left goalkeeper Nick Pope powerless.

Willock netted his second of the evening in the 82nd minute, securing the victory for the Magpies.

Although Birmingham pushed hard during 12 minutes of extra time, Newcastle held their ground, introducing rested top scorer Alexander Isak for the final moments after William Osula exited following a head clash.

“It was a challenging game for us, both mentally and physically. You could see that some of the players were feeling the pressure,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe remarked to BBC Sport.

“I anticipated it would be a tough night right from the start, especially after conceding so quickly. That made things twice as difficult because the atmosphere in the stadium exploded from the outset.”

“At halftime, the focus was on staying calm. I think we were a bit anxious; the game had turned emotional for us… we needed to maintain our composure and manage the match, which I thought we did much better in the second half.”