Newcastle United record back-to-back away wins as Magpies dump Aston Villa out of FA Cup
Eddie Howe’s side came from behind to beat an Aston Villa side who were reduced to ten men late in the first half.
On Tuesday evening, Newcastle United were not big fans of VAR. The technology ruled out Joe Willock’s strike against Tottenham Hotspur because of the narrowest of offside margins. There have been examples this season of goals that have stood because of a tolerance level built into the system, when they have appeared to have been just offside.
Willock and Newcastle were not the beneficiaries of such a decision in midweek, but regardless, the Magpies won the game. They then travelled to face Aston Villa in the FA Cup, knowing that VAR would not be in use at Villa Park.
Some would argue that this would lead to a more enjoyable match to watch, with no in-game waiting to know whether a goal may stand or a ruling be overturned. However, what followed was the biggest advert for VAR that there could have been, with the technology perhaps regaining some fans on Tyneside.
The man in the middle was Chris Kavanagh, who was promoted to UEFA’s elite list of referees recently. Whatever the criteria are for such a promotion, they were clearly lacking in his display on this occasion. Kavanagh was not alone in his poor performance, however. His assistants badly let him down several times during the match, with decisions that were scarcely believable at times.
Newcastle started brightly but were behind after 14 minutes when Tammy Abraham latched onto a lobbed free kick to slot home. However, replays then showed that Abraham was at least a yard offside when the ball was played. Where Joe Willock had seen a goal ruled out because of inches, Newcastle were now conceding one that was blatantly offside.
Then came a couple of penalty appeals for Newcastle that were waved away by Kavanagh. They would have been on the soft side, but they were decisions that have been given in the past. Despite the frustration, the Magpies kept going.
On one foray forward, Jacob Murphy was on the receiving end of a dangerous challenge by Lucas Digne. Villa’s fullback was booked, but the challenge could have quite easily been a red card, given its reckless nature. Still Newcastle maintained their composure.
On the stroke of half time, Villa were reduced to ten men when their goalkeeper Marco Bizot took out Jacob Murphy as the Magpies broke forward. It was the right decision but given what had gone before it, another call being made would not have been surprising.
Newcastle knew going into the second half that the game was there to be won despite them being behind. In the absence of Bruno Guimarães they needed someone to stand up though, and Sandro Tonali did. He brought Newcastle level with a deflected effort, after the Magpies had been denied a stonewall penalty, when Digne blocked a cross with his arm in the box.
Kavanagh gave Newcastle a free kick, therefore admitting Digne’s guilt, but linesman Nick Greenhalgh, who had not flagged for Abraham’s goal being offside in the first half, somehow missed that Digne was two yards inside the box. Tonali’s goal was justice simply for that wrong decision.
It was not long before Newcastle’s Italian midfielder grabbed his second. It was a pure, driven shot that substitute keeper Emiliano Martinez could not get anywhere near. It gave Newcastle a clear view of the Fifth Round, which they then secured thanks to Nick Woltemade ending his goal drought on his 24th birthday.
There was no doubt Newcastle deserved to progress, but their task was made all the more difficult by the officiating that took place at Villa Park. Without the safety net of VAR, the officials looked lost; scared to make a decision at times. There is certainly an argument to suggest that a byproduct of VAR has been a fall in refereeing standards.
Eddie Howe was frustrated on many occasions throughout this Fourth Round tie, but by full time he was beaming. Once again, it was a hugely important night for him and the club that they came through with flying colours, with their next away test being over 2,000 miles away in Baku, Azerbaijan.