Newcastle United saw off Southampton in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semifinal at home to book their place in the final at Wembley.
With a 1-0 first-leg advantage already in the bag, Sean Longstaff’s two goals were enough for the home side to ease to a 2-1 win and 3-1 on the aggregate score with Che Adams managing to etch his name on the scoresheet for the visitors.
Longstaff gave his side the ideal start with a goal in just the fifth minute of the game before guaranteeing his side a place in the final with a second in the 21st minute, sweeping home the ball from a Miguel Almiron pass after a superbly worked team move.
Newcastle’s best defensive record in Europe was breached in the 29th minute when Che Adams took advantage of a mixup to fire past Nick Pope while Adam Armstrong wasted another glorious chance in the second half to equalise on the night.
Eddie Howe’s men took no further chances and saw out the game to reach their first domestic competition final since 1999 despite playing the final stretch of the game with 10 men after Bruno Guimaraes was sent off in the 82nd minute.
They are also bidding for their first trophy since the 1955 FA Cup.
Their win also marks a continuous rise since the Saudi takeover with the club almost guaranteed to be playing Champions League football next season.
Newcastle United will face either Manchester United or Nottingham Forest in the final of the Carabao Cup on February 26th.
