Stephen Dunmoye
Newcastle United has clinched and booked their first Wembley FA Cup final appearance since losing in FA Cup final to Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, Manchester United in 1999.
The gloom of the Mike Ashley is very much in the rear-view mirror as the Saudi-funded project is accelerating far quicker than anyone anticipated.
The atmosphere ahead of kick-off at St. James’ Park was electric and they only had to wait five minutes for an opening goal.
Having a 1-0 lead from the first-leg, Newcastle didn’t need to win the game outright, but their electric start got the crowd even further enthused.
Sean Longstaff found himself in space inside the penalty area when Kieran Trippier fired a cross towards him.
Longstaff fired a shot low into the bottom corner, and he almost had a second three minutes later.
Bruno Guimaraes played a clever reverse pass in towards the path of Longstaff, but his curled effort went just wide of the post.
An onslaught of Newcastle pressure put Southampton firmly on the back foot.
Miguel Almiron had the freedom of the pitch before producing a beautiful pass to Longstaff inside the box yet again, and he produced a replica low show to make it 2-0.
A bleak evening looked to be on the cards for the traveling Southampton supporters, but a goal out of nothing got them back into the tie.
Che Adams got onto a rebound and fired the ball home with a clean strike, much to the surprise of the crowd.
Newcastle thought they were going to get a penalty for a foul on Callum Wilson inside the box, but VAR and Paul Tierney decided to signal no penalty.
The Saints never really put any pressure on the hosts in the second-half, and it was a miracle the Toon Army didn’t add to their lead.
Alexander Isak missed a chance from close-range, forcing a fantastic save from Gavin Bazunu, whilst Bruno Guimaraes shaved the post with a long-range effort 10 minutes from the end.
It didn’t end perfectly for the hosts though, with a red-card being shown to the Brazilian midfielder just before injury-time.
Play initial went on after Guimaraes fouled an opponent, yet VAR instructed the referee to review the footage and he was then dismissed.
Newcastle fans greeted the full-time whistle with a wave of noise, with it confirmed that they would be heading to a first cup final of the millennium.
