Joe Willock brace helps Newcastle claim hard-fought FA Cup victory at Birmingham
Callum Wilson was also on the scoresheet in a 3-2 fourth-round victory.
Joe Willock scored twice including a late winner as Newcastle took another step towards a second Wembley appearance of the season with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Birmingham in the FA Cup.
Newcastle secured a trip to the national stadium with their midweek Carabao Cup victory over Arsenal and they will have their sights on another after reaching the FA Cup fifth round.
However, they were made to work hard for their win over a Birmingham side who came into the clash at St Andrew’s on the back of an 18-match unbeaten run in all competitions, and the League One Blues could hardly have got off to a better start.
They took the lead inside the opening minute through Ethan Laird and could have netted again before the Premier League visitors responded and eased themselves ahead by the half-hour mark following two goals in five minutes from Willock and Callum Wilson, on his first start in 280 days.
Birmingham did not take it laying down though, Tomoki Iwata striking a fierce thunderbolt which flew past Nick Pope as the sides went into half-time level at 2-2 following a breathtaking opening 45 minutes.
Willock has founds starts hard to come by this season but, having been handed the opportunity on Saturday, proved a point to Eddie Howe when he netted what would prove to be an 82nd-minute winner, rifling in his second of the match and third of the season to extend Newcastle’s cup joy.
St Andrew’s was in fine voice pre-match and the roof came off the place with just 40 seconds on the clock.
Kieran Dowell’s deep delivery from a corner was nodded back into the danger area by Keshi Anderson and Laird blasted in via deflection off Wilson to give the League One leaders a dream start.
Newcastle were caught cold inside a cauldron of noise and had Pope to thank for not going two down when he got a strong diving hand to keep out Anderson’s rocket.
United found their feet though and drew level in the 21st minute in contentious circumstances.
William Osula fizzed a ball across the six-yard box and Willock thought his effort had been saved by Bailey Peacock-Farrell on the line, but assistant referee Nigel Lugg adjudged the ball to have crossed the line, sparking a belated reaction from an ecstatic away end.
Osula then saw an effort well stopped by Peacock-Farrell but he was unable to keep out Newcastle on their next attack.
Tino Livramento picked out Willock who nudged the ball goalwards. Osula scuffed his effort in front of an open net but the ball bounced kindly for Wilson who bundled in to silence the home fans.
The Magpies thought they added a third through another Willock effort but celebrations were cut short after the winger strayed into an offside position.
Birmingham missed two glorious chances to level things up as an entertaining game swung from one end to the other, firstly when Jay Stansfield somehow missed the target from a free header before Pope denied Scott Wright.
However, the Blues got themselves on level terms five minutes before the interval in sensational fashion. Marc Leonard’s teasing ball into the box was headed away by Matt Targett but the onrushing Iwata hit the ball flush from 20 yards which rocketed past Pope and into the roof of the net.
The second half was the polar opposite of the electric first period as some needle started to sneak into a stop-start half littered with fouls.
Birmingham, for whom Leonard was carried off on a stretcher after receiving lengthy treatment for a leg injury, started to sit deeper and they paid the price in the 83rd minute. Sean Longstaff’s intended pass into the box was blocked by Ben Davies but Willock pounced on the loose ball and drilled home.
Jacob Murphy had a chance to settle Newcastle nerves further as the game entered 12 minutes of stoppage time when he rounded Peacock-Farrell but Davies cleared off the line, although it did not prove costly for the Premier League side.
