Two years before Newcastle United ended their trophy hoodoo by winning the Carabao Cup, they tasted defeat in the final against Manchester United.
Eddie Howe’s first full season in charge took Newcastle United to a first domestic final in a generation, as well as the Champions League.
Indeed, Newcastle went down to Wembley full of optimism but ultimately failed to really show up on the day.
In truth, the Red Devils eased to a 2-0 win at Wembley. Both Casemiro and Marcus Rashford struck first-half goals without reply from Newcastle.
Thankfully, Newcastle would right those wrongs in March. They beat Liverpool 2-1 in the 2025 final, ending a 70-year wait for a major domestic honour.
Still, the 2023 final was a disappointment. Strangely enough, Martin Dubravka ended up getting a winners’ medal after spending six months on loan at the Red Devils earlier that season.
The goalkeeper, who left Newcastle for Burnley, wasn’t involved in the final but still got the medal – having played two games for the Manchester giants in the competition at an earlier stage.
Now, he’s opened up on the strangeness of it all.
Martin Dubravka playing for Manchester United in the Carabao Cup.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
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Martin Dubravka was supporting Newcastle United against Manchester United
Dubravka got a Carabao Cup winners’ medal for Manchester United but was actually back at Newcastle at the time.
He had been recalled from Old Trafford in January 2023 but could not feature for Newcastle at Wembley due to being cup-tied.
With Nick Pope suspended and Dubravka unable to feature, Newcastle had to turn to Loris Karius.
Despite his brief time at Old Trafford, Dubravka has revealed that he was only ever supporting Newcastle in the final.
Speaking to The Burnley Express, Dubravka said: “It was strange, I’m not going to lie. But obviously I played two games for them, so I can’t hide that fact.”
“I was in the Newcastle corner, supporting my team. It was strange because everyone looked at me when Manchester United scored to see if I’m going to celebrate or what I’m going to do.
“For me, it was obvious what I’m going to do. I was always supporting Newcastle. I spent, at that time, more than five years there, and I spent only six months in Manchester.”
Martin Dubravka is a big Newcastle United fan
Two years later, Dubravka got his hands on a medal with Newcastle after they beat Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.
The 36-year-old was a brilliant servant to Newcastle. In total, he made 179 appearances for the club after arriving from Sparta Prague in 2018, pulling off a number of brilliant saves along the way.
The Slovakia international further underlined his Geordie credentials even after leaving the club, too.
Speaking after Burnley beat the Black Cats last week, Dubravka appeared to aim a dig at Newcastle’s arch-rivals Sunderland.
“I spent almost eight years in Newcastle and played in the derby once, so I’m glad that we won it,” he said.
“I got so many messages from the Geordies before the match wishing me the best and that we hopefully smashed them.”