Alexander Isak’s Newcastle faced Championship club Blackburn Rovers away in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Tuesday. The match first kicked off 15 minutes late, at 9pm, to allow all the supporters to get into Ewood Park, and after around 15 minutes of play, the match was temporarily suspended, before quickly restarting.
Rovers supporters then threw around 20 tennis balls onto the field, which according to the English newspaper Daily Mail was a protest against the club’s owner Venkys.
Newcastle, meanwhile, initially had a lot of the ball, but it was Rovers who created the hottest scoring chances, which made Martin Dubravka sweat between the posts. Isak, in turn, was involved in several attacks in the second half, but was substituted goalless after 62 minutes of play, before Anthony Gordon nine minutes later made it 1-0 to Newcastle.
Newcastle’s joy was short-lived, however, as Rovers equalized in the 79th minute through Sammie Szmodics – after a quick conversion. Former AIK midfielder Yasin Ayari, who came on in the 63rd minute for Rovers, also got to celebrate the goal, and in the end the event went to extra time.
Well into extra-time, there were hot scoring chances for both sides, but to no avail, with Ayari having a header from close range narrowly wide of the goal, and in the end it was penalties.
Both Ayari and former IFK Norrköping player Arnor Sigurdsson each scored a penalty for Rovers, but in the end Newcastle still won and progressed in the tournament.
Newcastle will thus be allowed to play in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in the future.
Startelvor:
Blackburn Rovers: Pears – Hyam, McFadzean, Wharton – Brittain, Buckley, Moran, Chrisene – Szmodics, Dolan – Gallagher.
Newcastle: Dubravka – Trippier, Lascelles, Schär, Burn – Longstaff, Guimaraes, Willock – Murphy, Isak, Gordon.
