February 08, (THEWILL) – Newcastle United advanced to the FA Cup fifth round following an exhilarating 3-2 victory against Birmingham City at St Andrew’s.
The League One leaders began the match with remarkable intensity, taking the lead after just 43 seconds through Ethan Laird’s deflected volley off Callum Wilson.
The match contained significant moments of controversy, particularly surrounding Joe Willock’s equalising goal in the 21st minute.
Without goal-line technology in place until the next round, officials awarded the goal despite inconclusive video evidence regarding whether the ball had completely crossed the line.
Callum Wilson established Newcastle’s first lead of the evening, scoring from close range after an initial blocked attempt.
Birmingham City showed their competitive spirit when Tomoki Iwata levelled the score with an outstanding strike from outside the penalty area five minutes before the interval.
The second half brought increased tension between both teams, though scoring opportunities became less frequent.
The decisive moment arrived in the 82nd minute when Joe Willock capitalised on a fortunate deflection from Sean Longstaff’s attempted pass, converting clinically to send Newcastle through to the next round.
The victory maintains Newcastle United’s pursuit of silverware this season, with the club already in the EFL Cup final.
For Birmingham City, despite the disappointment of elimination, their performance against English Premier League opposition demonstrated their capabilities under current management.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
