Newcastle United’s ecstatic fans streamed down Barrack Road towards the statues of Geordie icons Sir Bobby Robson and Alan Shearer that stand at St James’ Park, hoping the last leap to long-overdue glory is finally in sight.
Many of those making their way towards the tumult of the city were not born when Newcastle last tasted success – and those who were would have had to dredge deep into their memory bank to recall it.
Newcastle United’s last domestic trophy was the FA Cup in 1955, while the club’s last major silverware came in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969, a competition that then had the guise of the Uefa Cup and is now the Europa League.
Now, after a comprehensive 4-0 win over two legs against Arsenal that sealed a Carabao Cup final appearance against either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur on 16 March, Eddie Howe and his Newcastle players have the opportunity to end the barren years.
And what a night it was on Tyneside as Newcastle’s supporters started in a state of gut-wrenching tension, but then ended high on emotion and elation after reaching Wembley once more.
They went through their full song-sheet in readiness for another showpiece occasion, from “The Blaydon Races”, The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” as well a Wembley-themed version of Doris Day’s “Que Sera, Sera”.
The noise echoed long into the night as Newcastle will now attempt to tell a different story from the tale of Wembley failure that has seen them lose five finals since Manchester City were beaten 3-1 in the 1955 FA Cup final.
This is not simply about making amends for defeat to Manchester United at Wembley in the final of this same competition two years ago. This is about redemption for 56 years as outsiders when the big prizes were being collected elsewhere.
If Newcastle United win the Carabao Cup, Howe and his players will assume legendary status forever. Forget the fact this competition may not top the list of some priorities. It means everything to this football club and this city.
All this was evident in the hours leading up to this game, as the Toon Army made their way to the traditional watering holes around St James’ Park such as The Strawberry and the bar named after the legendary Shearer.
You could not just see and hear the mixture of expectation and anticipation, you could feel it.
Forget the 2-0 lead from the first leg down at Arsenal. There was genuine anxiety in the air, borne out of Newcastle’s two tame home defeats to Bournemouth and Fulham, coupled with Arsenal’s 5-1 demolition of Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday.
In a pre-match atmosphere so loud you could barely hear yourself think, a giant flag was unfurled across The Gallowgate End emblazoned with the message “Get Into Them”.
Simple. To the point.
And Newcastle obliged with the sort of turbo-charged start that is a speciality when they are on form.
The only fear for the feverish home fans was their side would blow themselves out.
But all the worries disappeared into the chill air of the Tyneside night as the man who tormented Arsenal in the first leg rose to the occasion in part two.
Alexander Isak had already had one crisp strike ruled out for a marginal offside before he escaped the attentions of Arsenal defender William Saliba. His shot struck the frame of the goal, but Jacob Murphy was on hand to steer in the rebound.
In that moment, Arsenal were done and Newcastle were effectively back at Wembley to try to put a barren sequence stretching back 56 years to an end.
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya made sure Newcastle’s fans could start a celebration lasting most of the second half when he inexplicably played Declan Rice into trouble as he was shadowed by Fabian Schar after 52 minutes, the ball ending at the feet of Anthony Gordon for a simple finish.
As St James’ Park went wild, Bruno Guimaraes picked up a black and white scarf hurled on to the side of the pitch, holding it above his head, while goalscorer Gordon grabbed another before mimicking the celebrating fans by swirling it around his head in elation.
In among all the throat-clearing in practice for Wembley, Newcastle’s fans reserved a special place for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who complained about the ball being used in the Carabao Cup after their first-leg loss.
“Mikel Arteta, it must be the ball”, became part of this soundtrack to victory as Newcastle’s players and staff did a lap of honour – even the normally low-key Howe fist-pumping towards The Leazes End in celebration.
Newcastle’s X account joined in the fun, posting a picture of the ball with the words ‘the culprit’, while some were wondering whether Gordon’s post-match demand for his team to ‘stay humble’ was a small dig at Arsenal’s weekend celebrations against City.
Shearer delivered his verdict on “X”, posting: “That was a proper performance man. Arsenal couldn’t live with the intensity. Better than them tonight in every position.”
He was not wrong.
For all the carnival, colour and noise, once heads clear and calm returns, Howe and Newcastle know the hard part remains. Can they finally cross the psychological barrier that has reduced Newcastle to also-rans for so long?
They have been here before, as recently as two years ago, but this was once again an illustration of the outstanding job Howe has done since succeeding Steve Bruce in November 2021, with the team then in 19th place and five points from safety after 11 games.
This is a huge opportunity, but they have had opportunities before.
What they do have is a world-class striker in Isak, Gordon in irresistible form, and midfield pair Sandro Tonali and Guimaraes who are capable of exerting full control against sides as good as Arsenal.
Gordon, perhaps with an unwitting reference to the message Arsenal were so keen to deliver to Manchester City on Sunday, said: “It’s important to stay humble now.”
Guimaraes, however, was in no mood to play down expectations and what Newcastle can achieve as he added: “Play like that and we can dream big. It would be amazing to get a trophy, it is my dream to do this.”
The final word, however, must go to the man behind it all, the manager who has made Newcastle fans believe again.
Howe said: “It is huge to get back to Wembley. The first appearance there was a bit unexpected, but with the club we want to be, we have to be there regularly, so it’s not a surprise.
“We are there on merit, our run has not been easy this year, we’ve faced four Premier League teams, so we have done the hard yards.
“Hopefully we can learn from the last experience and improve our performance.”
Learn, end 56 success-starved years, and Howe will make himself a Geordie legend.
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