Former Wolves goalkeeper John Ruddy has tonight become a Carabao Cup winner, as Newcastle United beat Liverpool in the final at Wembley Stadium.
The Magpies won 2-1 and were superb down in the capital against the Reds to end their 56 years of hurt.
A Dan Burn header on the stroke of half-time put Newcastle 1-0 up.
Alexander Isak then doubled Newcastle’s lead before Liverpool grabbed a late goal through Federico Chiesa to set up a nervy finish.
But Newcastle held out for a deserved win – and that means John Ruddy is now a major trophy winner.
Former Wolves stopper Ruddy joined Newcastle at the start of the season, signing a one-year deal with the club.
Tonight will be particularly satisfying for Ruddy, especially given the agony of missing out on an FA Cup final with Wolves in 2019.
What John Ruddy said about Wolves’ FA Cup semi-final defeat to Watford
Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images
In the 2018/19 season under Nuno Espirito Santo, Wolves played against Watford in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
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Wolves were on course to make their first FA Cup final since 1960 after Matt Doherty and Raul Jimenez had put Wanderers 2-0 up, and there were only 11 minutes to go.
But Watford staged a comeback, with Gerard Deulofeu scoring audaciously from an angle, before Troy Deeney then equalised in injury-time from the penalty spot after a foul by Leander Dendoncker.
The game went to extra-time, and Wolves came unstuck when Deulofeu scored in the 104th minute.
Ruddy was the Wolves number two that season behind Rui Patricio, but had played every game of Wolves’ FA Cup campaign. So had Wolves gotten to the final he surely would have started.
The heartache was real for Ruddy, who said in an interview with Talking Wolves in 2022: “100% we should have got to that final.
“For me, it’s the one game in my career that I’ve never ever watched any footage back from.
“It’s the one game that I will take for the rest of my life that will just be the biggest regret of my career. That we didn’t win that FA Cup final.
“To be, I think we were literally 10 seconds away from winning the game. Then we concede the penalty. By that point you’re so deflated and so on the floor that you’ve got to try and lift yourself to go again. It’s very difficult.
“Honestly that is a massive regret. And that’s not just me. I think everyone in that team and squad would agree with that sentiment that that game got away from us and it never should have.”
Had Wolves gotten past Watford, Nuno’s side would have met Manchester City in the final.
Satisfaction for Ruddy after Wolves heartache as Newcastle win Carabao Cup
Ruddy has not played a competitive game for Newcastle since he signed.
But the reasons the Magpies moved for him were clear, with manager Eddie Howe saying at the time: “He has a huge amount of experience and adds a level of support and competition that we need.
“As well as his abilities on the pitch, he has a strong mentality and he is a leader, which will only benefit the group. I’m looking forward to him joining us as we prepare for the season ahead.”
It’s likely he’ll never actually play, but undoubtedly, his influence in the dressing room will be significant, just as it was at Wolves.
Ruddy was a great servant for Wolves and was spoken very highly of by many people at the club during his five years at Molineux.
It’s fantastic he now finally has a major trophy to his name at the age of 38, and hopefully it somewhat eases that 2019 heartache with Wolves.