Newcastle United were dumped out of the FA Cup last night by Sheffield Wednesday amid a costly mistake from the linesman.
The Lowdown: Cup upset
The magic of the cup saying runs true for Wednesday right now as they dumped Premier League side Newcastle out in the third round following a 2-1 victory at Hillsborough.
Josh Windass’s double either side of the hour mark was enough as the Yorkshire outfit survived a late onslaught from the visitors who were searching for an equaliser after Bruno Guimaraes had got a goal back with 20 minutes to go.
The six-time winners of the competition were knocked out at the first hurdle for the third time running and the second time consecutively to a League One side following Cambridge United’s shock last season.
The Latest: Newcastle aggrieved
Newcastle will be lumped with the disappointment of heading out of the competition but more so with the manner of it.
Windass’ opening goal in the 52nd minute was allowed to stand through a huge error from the linesman who incorrectly ruled him onside, and with no VAR available in a League One ground, the goal stood.
With NUFC Gallowgate’s Twitter account posting an image of the incident with the caption: “miles offside #NUFC”.
The Verdict: Incorrect call
There’s no denying that VAR would’ve had a huge impact on the game with not only Wednesday’s opener but also Guimaraes' goal both clearly offside and both would’ve been overruled.
Despite this, the Magpies' relatively strong side still containing Sven Botman, Joelinton and a returning Alexander Isak from the off were often left fruitless in their play despite dominating 75.3% of the possession.
It’s the first defeat for Eddie Howe’s side since August but with it now three games and no wins alongside just the one goal in that time, the St James’ Park outfit need to shake themselves down and get back on form against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.