Former Newcastle United winger Rolando Aarons.placeholder image
Former Newcastle United winger Rolando Aarons. | AFP via Getty Images
Newcastle United latest news: Eddie Howe’s side face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup tonight needing to match heroics from 2014 to progress to the final v Arsenal.
Newcastle United have a mountain to climb tonight against Manchester City but it is one they have previously scaled - thanks to an 18-year-old from Jamaica.
Back in October 2014, Alan Pardew’s Newcastle United side travelled to the Etihad Stadium for a Capital One Cup match against the reigning holders. City had defeated Sunderland in the previous season’s final at Wembley and were very much the pre-match favourites against an understrengthened Magpies side that started with a front-three of Gabriel Obertan, Adam Arsmtrong and Rolando Aarons.
However, by the time the 90 minutes were up, the travelling Newcastle United fans had a new hero to love. Aarons’ strike past Willy Caballero inside the first seven minutes set up a famous win in Manchester for the Magpies in a game that, because of persistent injury issues, would be his defining moment at St James’ Park.
Reflecting on that game for the club’s website, Aarons said: “Literally the whole stadium went quiet, apart from the Newcastle fans at the other end. I knew if I scored, I was going to run to Michael [Harding], the physio, who had worked with me for the previous six weeks.
“When you're injured, you feel a bit ignored. That is not me saying the manager didn't speak to me, but when you're not involved every day, you're not seeing the lads every day and you spend a lot of time with the physio.”
Just-shy of 12 years on from that win, Newcastle United head back over the Pennines knowing that they must win by the same scoreline, or margin of victory, to have any chance of seeing their hold on the Carabao Cup trophy extend beyond the 90 minutes. That, though, is a lot easier said than done.
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Eddie Howe has visited the Etihad Stadium six times as Newcastle United manager and has not seen his team register a single goal. Six defeats by an aggregate scoreline of 16-0 does not raise hopes of a famous night in Manchester - but neither did Pardew’s team selection back in 2014, and we all know how that night ended.
Rolando Aarons’ post-Newcastle United career
As mentioned, a plethora of injury issues would plague Aarons’ time on Tyneside and he would ultimately make just 27 senior appearances during his time in the first-team at the club. Aarons also embarked on a number of loan moves during his time on Tyneside to build his fitness levels, but was eventually released in 2021.
Reflecting on his injury issues withthe Athletic in 2019, Aarons said: “I broke down a few times. During my first season, I called my mum and cried down the phone after my hamstring injuries.
“Then, after my ACL operation, I ran a bath and couldn’t physically get into the tub. I just wept, thinking, ‘I’m the most unlucky footballer in the world.’ I felt helpless.
“I got into a dark place, mentally. I didn’t know anyone else who’d been through that experience so I was trying to do it all myself.”
Aarons, now aged 30, currently plays for Enterprise National League side Morecambe.
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