Newcastle took one step closer to their first-ever visit to the new Wembley with a 1-0 Carabao Cup first-leg victory over Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium.
The Magpies started the brighter of the two sides and had a couple of opportunities to open the scoring, with Joe Willock having two early chances. The former Arsenal midfielder fired well wide from the edge of the box, before then striking a volley over the crossbar from point blank range.
Just as Southampton were growing into the game, Newcastle thought they had taken the lead through Joelinton but his strike was ruled out for handball in the build-up. The Brazilian then should’ve found the back of the net just after the break, but somehow managed to blast over from a couple of yards.
However, Joelinton made amends with just under 20 minutes to go when he stabbed home from close-range to put the Magpies in front. Southampton then saw a goal ruled out through Adam Armstrong, but the Magpies held out for a narrow win.
Here are five talking points from the game.
Joelinton the match-winner
Having missed an earlier guilt-edge chance to give the Magpies the lead earlier in the game, Joelinton made amends by scoring the goal that would hand Newcastle a narrow advantage heading into the second-leg. A terrific piece of play from Alexander Isak saw the Swede spin past his marker before flashing the ball across the face of goal for Joelinton to tap home.
It was a poacher’s effort from the Brazil international and he is starting to get back to his best, having now scored twice his last four appearances.
Caleta-Car shown red card in fiery affair
Southampton saw red in the latter stages after Duje Caleta-Car was given his marching orders. The Croatian was handed a second yellow card following a cynical found on Allan Saint-Maximim.
It was a rash challenge from Caleta-Car and that type of foul was brewing given how feisty the game was. To make matters worse, second-half substitute Jacob Murphy was seen waving Caleta-Car off the pitch – an incident that could cause more tension between the two teams.
It was a decision that could cost the Saints, however, heading into the second leg.
Referee controversy
Newcastle thought they had taken the lead in the 40th minute after Joelinton stabbed home from close-range following Callum Wilson’s blocked effort. However, the referee decided to chalk the goal off almost immediately for handball on the Brazilian midfielder as he brought the ball down before slotting home.
It was a decision that caused uproar from the Newcastle players and fans inside the ground, while supporters on social media were also fuming that the goal didn’t stand. VAR had a look at the incident but stuck with the on-field decision – something that doesn’t happen too often nowadays.
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Replays suggested that the ball rolled down the arm of Joelinton before he lashed home beyond Gavin Bazunu. By the letter of the law, it was the correct decision by Stuart Attwell. In the FIFA rule book, if the ball touches an attacking player’s hand/arm in the immediate goal-scoring build-up play, a handball should be awarded.
A similar instance occurred in the second-half when Armstrong bundled the ball home, but VAR ruled the goal out due to handball. The ball appeared to strike Armstrong’s hand as he tussled with Dan Burn, before the ball rolled home, only for the technology to overrule the referee’s initial decision.
Orsic struggles on full debut
From the World Cup third place play-off to the Carabao Cup semi-final, Mirslav Orsic has had quite the month since he last started a game before being named in the XI to face Newcastle. The 30-year-old scored in Croatia’s 2-1 win over Morocco on December 17 to help his nation win a Bronze medal at the tournament.
However, there was little time off for Orsic, who made the switch to Southampton in a deal worth around £8million from Dinamo Zagreb earlier this month – a deal that looked a bargain on paper. Orsic hasn’t set the world alight on the South Coast so far, and failed to deceive on his full debut for the club.
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He was handed his first start by Jones as the Saints boss shuffled his pack, but Orsic struggled to get involved and looked a complete passenger every time Southampton went forward. After Orsic was replaced on the 57 minute mark, Saints looked a lot more dangerous with Adams and Sam Edozie on the bench alongside Adam Armstrong.
Saint-Maximim frustration
There were some calls from Newcastle fans for Saint-Maximim to be named in the starting XI for the trip to St Mary’s after the Magpies failed to score for the third time in four matches on Saturday. Newcastle have been solid defensively of late, having kept six successive clean sheets in the Premier League, but do lack some spark and creativity in attack.
However, despite boasting a wealth of pace, ball-playing and creative ability, Saint-Maximim was named on the bench once again – to the frustration of many Newcastle supporters. The same applied to record signing Isak, but his retched injury record could be a major factor behind his latest snub.
Saint-Maximim now hasn’t started a match since November and it is becoming a theme – a scenario that looked almost impossible 12 months ago.
