Longstaff and Burn overturn Fulham to send Newcastle into FA Cup fifth round
Newcastle earned a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup with a morale-boosting 2-0 win as Eddie Howe goes in search of a first trophy under the club’s Saudi ownership.
Goals either side of half-time from Sean Longstaff and Dan Burn were enough to see off Fulham, on a night where the home fans showed their discontent over the pricing of the tickets for this fixture – as high as £40 and £50 for adults in designated areas of the ground.
Fulham fans voiced their anger on social media over the high prices. An attendance of 18,960 was a drop-off from the capacity of just shy of 25,000. The 3,800 Newcastle fans were the ones making most of the noise.
Longstaff’s rasping effort on 39 minutes sent Howe’s side on their way to a much-needed win, with Newcastle on a wretched run of form in the Premier League. Burn’s instinctive finish on 60 minutes took the game beyond Fulham. They have suffered a miserable week, being knocked out of both domestic cups – the Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool, as well as this below-par display.
Newcastle started with high intensity and, within five minutes, a mix-up in the Fulham defence opened up an opportunity for Jacob Murphy inside the box, but his shot was sharply saved by Marek Rodak.
Newcastle continued to test the Fulham goalkeeper, as Kieran Trippier’s whipped cross from a short corner forced another save from Rodak just past the 15-minute mark. The ball was scrambled away only as far as Anthony Gordon, whose well-hit effort whistled just wide.
Martin Dubravka was forced into his first save after good work from Harry Wilson on the right for Fulham. He picked out Rodrigo Muniz, who spun and shot low on the turn. Dubravka did well to turn the Brazilian’s shot away.
The game was being played at a fast tempo, with both sides eager to attack and with a desire to fight for every ball. Antonee Robinson demonstrated as much with an old-school sliding tackle on Fabian Schär, not long after the Swiss centre-back had been booked for pulling down Muniz.
Alexander Isak illustrated quick feet to get the better of Tim Ream before rounding Rodak but his heavy touch left the ball to roll out of play. Muniz then took the ball down well and again shot on the turn, but it deflected just wide.
On 39 minutes, Newcastle took the lead. Fulham failed to deal with a corner and, as the ball bobbled around, it fell to Longstaff, whose first-time effort found the back of the net. Murphy raced through on the stroke of half-time and finished beyond Rodak, but the flag was swiftly raised.
Fulham started the second half brightly and had the ball in the net within two minutes of the restart. Willian, who had replaced the injured Wilson late in the first half, crashed a shot beyond Dubravka, but the flag had already been raised against Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
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Despite Fulham’s sustained pressure in the first 10 minutes of the second half, they lacked cohesion in the final third and struggled to create a clearcut chance. Newcastle were happy to play on the counterattack.
The pressure that Fulham had put on Howe’s side was relieved on the hour mark when the former Fulham man Burn stabbed home on the rebound, after Trippier had swung in another pinpoint cross.
Sven Botman won the initial header, which was saved by Rodak, but Burn was on hand to fire home in front of the jubilant away supporters. Burn was also on target against Fulham in December’s 3-0 win at St James’ Park.
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Fulham tried to muster a response, but Robinson’s low drive from outside the box was comfortable for Dubravka. Newcastle’s goal was barely threatened. As the Fulham fans left in their droves, Newcastle fans continued to party in the Putney End, with Alan Shearer among them.
Fulham’s night was summed up when Tom Cairney, the skipper, sliced a shot wide from inside the box. Meanwhile it feels like the feelgood factor is back for Newcastle, and Howe’s side look to be back on track before a tricky trip to Villa Park on Tuesday. Marco Silva’s men trudged off the pitch knowing the formalities of the remainder of the league season are all that lie ahead of them, starting at home to Everton, also on Tuesday.