Willock strikes late to send Toon through - Millwall 0-1 Newcastle
A tough watch at The Den and by no means a cup classic, as Newcastle United progressed to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup away to Millwall.
It wasn't a great performance by any stretch, as we spent much of the night searching for a moment of quality, but an 80th-minute strike from Joe Willock saw us avoid penalties and progress against promotion-chasing Championship opposition once again.
Like Bournemouth on Saturday, it wasn't vintage Newcastle or a performance Matthias Jaissle will be particularly pleased with. However, it's a win, it's another late strike and another show of character in a game that last season's version of Newcastle United may not have come through.
We made THREE changes from Saturday's 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, seeing Fabian Schar, Jacob Ramsey and Jacob Murphy replace Malick Thiaw, Lewis Miley and Anthony Elanga.
Yoane Wissa captained the side in Burn and Joelinton's absence, while new signing Matias Fernandez-Pardo featured on the bench once again a week on from his £51m move from Lille.
A strong side, although it was a surprise that new boys Sean Steur and Bazoumana Toure weren't rotated into the XI, with £35.5m recruit Aladji Bamba still waiting for his first competitive start after just 14 minutes of football across our opening four games.
Newcastle XI: Hornicek - Dedic, Schar, Botman, Hall - Nico, Ramsey - Murphy, Willock, Barnes - Wissa (c).
Substitutes: Pope, Livramento, Bamba, Thiaw, Steur, Toure, Elanga, Fernandez-Pardo, Miley
Plenty possession, not enough quality
We had control of the game in the early stages, enjoying 68% possession and eight shots to Millwall's zero after 20 minutes, but cutting edge was sorely lacking as Murphy fired over, Willock saw a shot saved after driving into the box, Botman missed a free header, and Wissa had an effort blocked well by Cooper after a quick breakaway.
Murphy's passing was really poor and Nico committed a few needless fouls, but Ramsey looked sharp after Saturday's impactful cameo. It was all too slow, predictable and lacking in quality when we entered the final third.
Just before the break, Hornicek did well under pressure to punch two dangerous crosses away before we were denied a blatant penalty. A shirt pull on Schar was clear as day, but the referee missed it, and with no VAR on hand, the Lions got away with it.
Willock leaves it late against the Lions
Fernandez-Pardo was put through his paces over the half-time break, but Jaissle's first change actually saw Tino Livramento replace Dedic at right-back. And the England international made a key intervention, producing a vital defensive header at the back post as Millwall threw a few early crosses into the box.
Murphy's delivery from corners was atrocious at times, and we desperately needed an injection of quality from the bench as we drifted towards the hour mark showing very few signs of Jaissle's fast, aggressive, 'vertical' football against a young Millwall side without many of their key players.
Changes then came on 63 minutes, as Fernandez-Pardo and Elanga replaced Wissa and Murphy, who'd had a shocker with some wayward passing, awful corners and odd decision-making all night. The armband went to Schar and Fernandez-Pardo slotted in up top, where he played much of his football at Lille over the past year.
Our lack of a natural No.10 was noticeable, and our need for something different down that right wing also stood out, raising frustrations around our decision to reject a £15m offer for Murphy last week.
The lack of quality remained, aside from one Fernandez-Pardo burst down the left, and we'd now lost control of the game. Millwall were by no means banging on the door for a goal of their own, but we were seeing less of the ball and spent large parts of the second half stuck in our own half as we struggled to get any of our front four into the game.
Then came a two-minute period which swung the match. Just after Millwall's Arconte burst beyond Livramento and smashed the post, Newcastle FINALLY produced a moment of quality. Fernandez-Pardo's creative spark released Hall down the left, the birthday boy crossed low, and Willock did the rest, turning home for his second goal of the season in front of the travelling Toon Army.
And that's how it ended. It wasn't pretty, and our limitations were clear in deficiencies in the final third, but we got the job done to book our place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
Next up, a trip to Elland Road as Newcastle take on Leeds United next Monday.
Keep the faith. HWTL.
