Carabao Cup holders Newcastle United reached the quarter-finals of this season’s competition after easing past Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at St James’ Park.
Newcastle took the lead when Fabian Schar headed in from a corner on 24 minutes, though Spurs protested that Djed Spence had not been given time to take up his defensive position after tying his lace by the corner flag.
In a lively first half, both teams created chances and Harvey Barnes could have scored twice, with Newcastle eventually doubling their lead five minutes into the second half when Woltemade headed in after Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky misjudged a cross.
Aaron Ramsdale, in goal for Newcastle, saved well to deny Pape Matar Sarr’s low drive from the edge of the box and while both sides made changes in pursuit of goals, Eddie Howe’s team held firm.
Newcastle, who have not been behind in a Carabao Cup game since losing the 2023 final to Manchester United, will now continue in pursuit of a third final in four years with a home tie against Fulham in mid-December.
Here, The Athletic’s Chris Waugh and Elias Burke explain the key talking points.
Is the Carabao Cup Newcastle’s competition?
Some of the key personnel may have changed, including the striker who is putting the ball in the back of the net, but this very much remains Newcastle’s competition under Eddie Howe’s tutelage.
Only once, in 19 matches spread across four seasons, have Newcastle lost in normal time in the Carabao Cup. And that was their 2-0 final defeat against Manchester United in 2023. They have not trailed in a match in this competition since, being knocked out by Chelsea on penalties in 2023-24 before lifting the trophy last season.
For the fourth year in succession under Howe, Newcastle have reached the last eight, and they have beaten all of the so-called ‘Big Six’ now in this competition. In Arsenal’s case, twice.
Alexander Isak, the scorer of the winning goal in March’s final, may have deserted Newcastle, but his replacement, Woltemade, continues his ridiculously impressive conversion rate in front of goal. Across nine starts, he has scored six goals for Newcastle so far, four of them at St James’ Park, and once again he did so with a solitary shot.
Some of his build-up play, the touches, flicks and passes, was breathtaking once more, and he is brilliant at setting up his team-mates. Yet he only managed three touches inside the opposition box, the first coming in the 43rd minute, and only had 21 in general.
Regardless, the 23-year-old has been prolific since arriving and Newcastle continue to find ways to win in this competition. Having failed to lift a domestic trophy for 70 years until seven months ago, they are not willing to give up this one easily and are still on course to become only the fifth team to retain the League Cup.
Chris Waugh
Why did Newcastle’s opener upset Spurs?
Tottenham have been among the best teams in the Premier League from set pieces this season, proving as formidable at defending them as they are threatening when attacking them. Thomas Frank and Spurs’ set-piece coach Andreas Georgson obsess over every detail, and when one piece is out of place, it can throw the whole structure off.
In the corner-kick routine before Newcastle opened the scoring, Spence was in the mix inside the box. Tottenham, as they have done so well this season, defended that corner kick competently. However, in the lead-up to Schar’s header, Spence was near the corner flag, tying his laces.
After Spence had tied his laces — a process that seemed to take an age, inviting jeers from the home support — the referee allowed Sandro Tonali to take the corner, but Spence was rushing back into position.
Frank immediately turned towards the fourth official, venting his frustration. In his view, Spurs were left a man down in the box, and the referee should have given Spence the time to return to his designated position to defend the corner. Frank criticised Chris Kavanagh and said afterwards that Spence was due to mark Schar.
Elias Burke
Did Schar show he can still be a starter?
Ask those inside Newcastle and they will stress that, no matter how much he may be doubted, Schar always backs himself to come good again.
The 33-year-old had not started a match since he was forced off due to concussion against Barcelona on September 18. Malick Thiaw slotted in alongside Sven Botman and that pairing have complemented one another superbly, supporting the theory that they can and will be Newcastle’s centre-back pairing for years to come.
Thiaw has started nine matches in succession in all competitions and, with Botman rested on to the bench after having his head stapled followed a clash of heads with Sasa Lukic during the victory over Fulham, he shifted across to left-sided centre-half. Schar, who came on against Fulham, resumed his position as right-sided centre-back, despite having played on the left for much of 2023-24 when Botman was sidelined with a knee injury.
For much of his short Newcastle career so far, Thiaw has looked largely unflustered and extremely impressive, but it was Schar who appeared most at ease against Spurs. Thiaw misplaced a couple of passes and decided he had to commit a tactical foul just before half-time, receiving a booking for upending Xavi Simons.
Schar, meanwhile, capped off his return to the XI with the opening goal, powering in a header from a Tonali corner having found himself in space inside the area. Regardless of his age, Schar consistently produces when called upon.
Impressively, despite this back four having never started together, with Dan Burn and Emil Krafth playing down the defensive flanks, Newcastle kept an eighth clean sheet in 14 matches in all competitions. No matter the make-up of their backline, Newcastle are stifling their opponents.
Chris Waugh
Did Spurs miss Vicario?
Guglielmo Vicario produced possibly his most impressive display in a Tottenham shirt against Monaco and followed it up with a similarly excellent performance against Everton in the 3-0 win on the weekend, putting to bed any doubt over his status as Spurs’ No 1 for the here and now. Still, having joined in January to significant fanfare after impressing for Slavia Prague, 22-year-old Kinsky is viewed as a potential long-term successor, and he had the chance to assert his status as one for the future at St. James’ Park.
Kinsky had a solid first half, demonstrating the short and medium-length distribution which promises to potentially add another dimension to Tottenham’s build-up play. On one occasion, he set Lucas Bergvall away on the counter-attack with a perfectly weighted throw into his direction, an encouraging sign of his ability to inject pace into a Spurs attack that has been ponderous and slow from open play for much of the season so far.
His second half, however, was much tougher. Kinsky was culpable for Newcastle’s second goal of the evening, flapping at a floated Joe Willock cross which Woltemade headed into an empty net. From that point, his distribution was slightly more erratic, miscuing the chipped balls over the Newcastle attack that brought a different dimension to Spurs’ attack in the first half. Still, Frank will take encouragement from the fact that Kinsky’s head didn’t drop, and he continued to make himself available to receive in awkward situations and attempt riskier passes.
With Vicario missing from the matchday squad without explanation, perhaps Kinsky will be called upon again on the weekend to deputise. In the Italian’s absence, Brandon Austin and Luca Gunter were named on the bench, but it seems unlikely that they will ascend Kinsky in the pecking order, despite his error for the goal.
And while Spurs can ill afford another error leading to an opposition goal against Chelsea on Saturday evening, Kinsky is clearly talented, and offers attributes with his feet that no other Spurs keeper has.
Elias Burke
What did Howe say?
“I thought everyone played with the right spirit and determination, it was a hard-fought win,” Howe said.
On if players who came into the team took their chances: “There was no sort of great message to the group from me, but I think on a subconscious level they’ll have known they needed to grab these ones. Of course, training is a massive opportunity for them to impress me. They didn’t let me down.”
On Willock’s performance: “Really pleased for Joe because we all have very short memories in football. We forget how good players can be, but we haven’t as coaches. The biggest problem he has had has been his body but he looked really fit, he covered lots of grounds and tactically he was excellent in a different role. He got an assist and could have scored as well.”
What did Frank say?
“I think we conceded two goals where it was two mistakes,” Frank said to Sky Sports. “I think the first was a mistake from Chris, the ref, because he didn’t allow Djed time to come back in, which he clearly should have done. He’s supposed to mark Schar, who scored. So I think that was the first mistake.
“It’s very, very rarely I comment on any decision, but this we need to comment because it was completely common sense.
“And the second, unfortunately, was a mistake from Atonin.”
What next for Newcastle?
Sunday, November 2: West Ham (Away), Premier League, 2pm UK, 9am ET
What next for Spurs?