Joe Willock doubles up as Newcastle edge out Birmingham in thriller
A wet evening, a slick pitch and two committed teams and suddenly the FA Cup doesn't seem in quite such a troubled state. A remarkable tie, played at remarkable pace, stuffed with incident and endeavour, and illuminated by a stunning goal from Tomoki Iwata, was settled in favour of the Premier League side by two goals from Joe Willock. Yet Birmingham will draw not merely a lot of pride from their performance but also encouragement that if they are promoted out of League One, they will be able to cope at the higher level.
Birmingham might also wonder whether Willock's first goal crossed the line. 'It's a 50-50 chance the decision goes in your favour and it didn't,' said the Birmingham manager, Chris Davies. Although Bailey Peacock-Farrell's feet were well behind the line when he reacted sharply to punch away Willock's close-range shot, whether the whole of the ball had crossed the whole of the line was an extremely close-run thing. With no goalline technology, the decision fell to the linesman Nigel Lugg, a former warehouse operations manager from Croydon, and he judged it had.
Related: Birmingham City v Newcastle United: FA Cup fourth round – live
But even if that was tight, there could be no real sense of grievance for the home side given that when Ethan Laird, in an extremely necessary moment of self-preservation, ducked his head to allow Iwata's 25-yard shot to flash over him and into the top corner, he was in an offside position. It would have taken the stoniest of hearts to rule that effort out, but a video assistant referee probably would have done.
This wasn't a day for such modern concerns. The weather was ideal for the fourth round of the Cup, a thick veil of drizzle casting everything in an appropriately nostalgic soft focus, before yielding to heavy second-half rain. It was a game of robust challenges and boisterous old-fashioned excitement, filtered through a modern lens. Although promotion is clearly the priority for Birmingham, this was a game that mattered, something clear from the dozen or so lads in Burberry caps and scarves outside New Street station chanting unconvincingly about much how they hate Geordies to the pre-match light show featuring the local rapper Jaykae.
Suitably whipped up, Birmingham were ahead within 43 seconds against a Newcastle side that featured only two players who had started Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final win over Arsenal, Laird lashing in after Kieran Dowell's corner had been headed back across goal by Keshi Anderson. For 20 minutes, Birmingham dominated and, had Nick Pope not made a fine save to keep out an Anderson volley, there might not have been a way back. 'I thought we did well to navigate the early part of the game,' said Eddie Howe.
But William Osula's surges down the right always offered hope and contributed to two goals in the space of four minutes. After Willock's controversial equaliser, Callum Wilson, boot raised to shoulder height, nudged in from even closer range after Osula, two yards out in front of an open goal, had somehow smacked the ball into the back of his standing leg.
'He was in the right place at the right time,' said Howe. 'I don't see a huge number of players in world football who can do what Callum does. His movement and game management are second to none.'
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Iwata, running on to a bouncing clearance to smack in his extraordinary goal, had the scores level by half-time. Newcastle never looked entirely comfortable, but ultimately they did find the winner, Willock pouncing to drill Sean Longstaff's cross-cum-shot between the legs of Peacock-Farrell on 82 minutes. Birmingham, as Davies acknowledged, had just begun to tire, and while Willock's run was not picked up, that does not at all detract from the quickness of the instincts or the sharpness of the finish.
'I think he's such a talented lad,' said Howe, who was delighted by how Willock had adapted to a more advanced role. 'I really want to see him back to his best. It's been a stop-start season. He's got the running capacity to play in that position and play in those one-v-one actions.'
It wasn't Newcastle's best performance but, given the changes, it was never likely to be: this was about getting the job done – and they did that.
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