Three screamers and a penalty - Newcastle United safely through to FA Cup fourth round at expense of plucky Bromley

 · January 12 2025, 17:16
Three screamers and a penalty - Newcastle United safely through to FA Cup fourth round at expense of plucky Bromley
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Newcastle United got their name into the draw for the FA Cup fourth round after a 3-1 victory at St James' Park over League Two Bromley.

Before we go any further, we have to doff our caps to Bromley for playing an excellent game. They genuinely made life hard for Newcastle and after taking an early lead, gave us a genuine scare.

Newcastle weren't great by any stretch of the imagination, particularly in the first half, but after a couple of tweaks during the break, the game became easier for the Magpies.

However, it was Bromley who got the game really going after just eight minutes when Cameron Congreve curled a beautiful 20-yard left-foot curler into the bottom corner beyond Martin Dubravka. It was such a good goal that it was hard to be mad that Newcastle had conceded.

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Joelinton and Anthony Gordon in Northumberland (a joke for those of you who watched on the BBC)

Bromley's low block caused Newcastle problems in the first half

Bromley almost doubled their lead when the impressive Danny Imray, on loan from Crystal Palace, took full advantage of Lloyd Kelly being about as much use as ... well ... Miguel Almrion. Bursting down the wing he came inside and fired a fierce shot across the face of Dubravka's goal.

However, the Bromley lead didn't last long. Eight minutes in fact, as Lewis Miley announced his return to the starting lineup in spectacular fashion, drilling home another 20-yard screamer, but where Congreve's was finessed into the net, Miley's was walloped.

The score remained level up to half-time during which Eddie Howe opted to make a couple of changes, bringing off Harvey Barnes, who hadn't really impacted the game, and Joelinton, who was drafted in last minute to replace the injured Joe Willock. Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes replaced them and suddenly, Newcastle looked completely different. There was a pep in their step; suddenly, it looked like we were genuinely trying.

We can understand giving Joelinton a rest, but how Sean Longstaff and Miguel Almiron were left on the pitch, we'll never know. In fact, I'm really starting to contemplate having Almiron investigated for fraud because he's taking a huge wage under the pretence of being a professional footballer but he was made to look below average by a side three leagues below.

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Will Osula got his first Newcastle United goal - it was worth the wait

Newcastle were given a helping hand early in the second half after Matt Targett was brought down in the area and a penalty was awarded on 49 minutes with Anthony Gordon stepping up to despatch confidently.

We were hoping Will Osula would be given the penalty so he could get his first Newcastle goal, but it didn't matter as the young Norwegian scored a sublime solo effort on 61 minutes to round off the scoring. Bringing the ball into the box from the right-hand side, a couple of stepovers threw his marker off his footing before Osula lashed a fierce left-foot effort into the back of the net.

It was the confidence-boosting goal we were hoping for before kick-off, although we never imagined it would be such a stunner.

Trevan Sanusi got 20-odd minutes to show what he can do again, and the 17-year-old was clearly enjoying himself, twisting and turning down the flanks, although he needs to work on knowing when to pass as he was often dispossessed. He clearly watched far too much Allan Saint-Maximin.

Into the next round for Newcastle. Eight wins in a row. Fun times.

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