Newcastle United secured passage to the 4th round of the League Cup in a relatively lowkey match against League Two AFC Wimbledon in a hastily rearranged game on Tuesday night. An act of God finally saw United play at home in a Cup for the first time in eight attempts.
A full house saw Fabian Schar nonchalantly slot home a first half penalty to set up a tie against Chelsea at SJP on the 30 October as United seek a return to Wembley.
Here are our five key takeaways from the game:
Will Osula is raw, but the ingredients are there
It was an encouraging runout for the £15m summer signing. The big Dane’s movement was impressive, he has a turn of pace, and he can create space with his first touch by taking it away from a defender.
He clearly has long way to go, and is visibly incredibly raw, however the potential was clearly on display on Tuesday night. His physical attributes will stand him in good stead in the Premier League and I would think (or perhaps wish) he would get some more minutes from the bench.
When Wilson returns from injury too, I hope the lad can work with and learn from him; and continue to make the matchday squads, as leaving him out would stifle his potential.
Joe Willock got a vital 90mins
While the game will be instantly consigned to the realm of ‘if you lift the trophy in February, no one cares who you beat on a lowkey night in the third round,’ it was a big night for Joe Willock was completed 90 minutes for the first time since the 6-1 drubbing of Spurs on 23 April 2023.
That is the perfect game which highlights the lad’s quality, his delightful outside of the boot assist for Isak to score the fourth, carved Spurs apart that day. Last season was an injury nightmare for Willock, so it was pleasing to see him finally finish the 90 minutes still on the pitch.
He was quiet on Tuesday, just like everyone else to be fair, but the minutes in the legs will hopefully see him start to get back to the intelligent, pacey runner he was…
Source link : https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2024/10/02/five-takeaways-from-newcastle-1-0-wimbledon-osula-a-rare-90-mins-and-the-low-block/
Author : Jonathan Young
Publish date : 2024-10-02 18:00:05
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