Nick Woltemade had just climbed high to nod in and double Newcastle’s lead against Tottenham after Fabian Schar’s first half opener and the Tyneside rendition of Que Sera soon echoed around United’s home.
There was still plenty of time remaining and after seeing out the 2-0 victory to keep their defence of the trophy alive there remains two more obstacles to overcome before the Magpies return to Wembley, but who can blame Newcastle’s supporters for planning ahead.
Under the previous regime, cup competitions were a distraction on Tyneside and early exits an annual occurrence. Now, the Magpies are near enough certs to still be alive and kicking when the League Cup reaches its final stages. That’s now four years in a row Newcastle have made it through to the last eight.
And to the delight of Howe, they did so on Wednesday night while also giving so many of their stars a breather. Howe made eight changes, leaving out the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon. Those handed an opportunity grasped it. Schar headed in the opener, Joe Willock set up the second and the outstanding Aaron Ramsdale made a string of superb saves.
The Magpies have shaken off their Brighton frustration and recovered with three successive wins in three different competitions, a trio of victories that has kick-started the campaign. They head to West Ham on Sunday armed with belief and momentum.
“Important” was how Howe described his team selection on the eve of Wednesday’s fourth round tie, with United’s head coach seeking to find the right balance between giving squad figures crucial minutes but also naming a side he was sure would be strong enough to advance. Changes were inevitable but the fact he made more for this game than he did the third round success against Bradford City was a surprise.
Thomas Frank wanted to follow in Newcastle’s footsteps and win the Carabao Cup this season but for the second successive campaign his run in the competition was brought to an end on Tyneside.
Howe will have banked on his side been driven by desire, for several of the players coming into the side will have been desperate to take their chance. Willock, for example, was making just his second start of the season, Jacob Ramsey is still clearly behind Joelinton in the midfield pecking order, the same can be said of Harvey Barnes with Anthony Gordon. Anthony Elanga has endured a frustrating start to life at St James’ Park.
Barnes certainly made a strong case for more minutes with his brace from the bench against Benfica last week and had a glorious chance to add another when he was teed up by Woltemade early on but could only find the side netting.
Newcastle didn’t look like a second string. An early Sandro Tonali free-kick delivery teed up Malick Thiaw but the defender’s header was scrambled away, before the Italian midfielder so nearly picked out Willock with a through-ball.
Spurs were sloppy and second best. Brennan Johnson wasted one good opportunity when he had five men in yellow in the box but sliced his cross out of play. The visitors had just three touches in Newcastle’s box in the first half of the opening period.
There was no question that Newcastle deserved the lead given to them by the head of Schar, but that didn’t stop furious Frank and his players complaining. Frank screamed in the face of fourth official Dean Whitestone in the aftermath of the opener. He felt referee Chris Kavanagh should have delayed the taking of a corner until Djed Spence had got back in position after he’d gone down to tie his lace. Jason Tindall smirked as Frank fumed. Richarlison was booked for his protests.
The striker’s mood worsened when he mistimed his run so wasn’t in position to tap in a Lucas Bergvall cross at the back post and then failed to reach another teasing delivery from the right soon after. The fury had sparked Spurs into life.
Barnes hit the bar from close-range but Spurs finished the first half much the stronger of the two sides. There was more frustration for Richarlison when he headed straight at Ramsdale before Xavi Simons’ dipping strike from distance flashed just over the bar.
Willock missed a sitter immediately after the restart but made amends when he flighted in the cross that was met by Woltemade to double Newcastle’s lead.
Spurs weren’t done and the final half an hour would have been a nerve-racking affair had it not been for the excellence of Ramsdale, who kept out Pape Sarr with an outstanding one-handed save to his left.
But Howe was able to turn to the bench and call on his rested stars, who came on and helped to see it out.