Newcastle United have booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round following a 3-1 win against Bromley at St James' Park.

Cameron Congreve gave Bromley a shock lead with an effort from outside the box in the eighth minute, but Lewis Miley drew Newcastle level with a 25-yard strike after the quarter-hour mark. Substitute Anthony Gordon put Newcastle in front with a penalty after the break before William Osula sealed the win with a thunderbolt from distance.

Here are five things we learned from the game.

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Bench helps bail Newcastle out

For all Newcastle's possession - a whopping 86.3% in the first half - the Magpies struggled to create clear cut chances against a spirited Bromley side, who got men behind the ball and defended manfully. Aside from William Osula coming just inches from getting a touch on Harvey Barnes' ball across the face of the goal, Newcastle huffed and puffed after equalising without truly troubling Bromley and Howe had to turn to his bench at half-time.

One of the loudest roars of the first half came when Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes warmed up on the touchline and Howe made a double substitution at the break. Bruno replaced Joelinton, as planned, after the Brazilian played a lot of football, and Anthony Gordon came on for Harvey Barnes, who came off with a muscle issue on a rare start. The substitutions gave Newcastle a much-needed shot in the arm and the Magpies were awarded a penalty in the 49th minute after Matt Targett was taken down inside the area by Ben Thompson after the defender cut on to his right foot.

Gordon, who had not been long on the field, immediately picked up the ball and the substitute sent goalkeeper Grant Smith the wrong way from the spot in front of the Leazes End. Newcastle did not look back from that point.

Lewis Miley atones after Bromley shock

This was Bromley's first ever FA Cup third-round tie and the visitors' first ever competitive game against a top-flight opponent, but there was a reason why boss Andy Woodman repeatedly stressed his side were not just here for a day out on the former Magpies goalkeeping coach's return to St James' Park. Those were not empty words. That was clear in the eighth minute.

Goalkeeper Grant Smith's long punt forward was headed on, uncontested, and Corey Whitely managed to hook the ball on to Cameron Congreve despite the forward being surrounded by three black and white shirts. Congreve skipped away from a weak challenge by Lewis Miley and curled a shot past Martin Dubravka, who was unable to keep the ball out despite getting a hand to it.

St James' was stunned into silence. Well aside from the delirious Bromley fans up in the gods. There were chants of 'Is this a library?' and 'No noise from the Saudi boys'. The away end even sang about going to Wembley.

Newcastle looked a little shell-shocked; Bromley, in contrast, were pushing for a second. Lloyd Kelly's slack attempted pass was intercepted by the rapid Danny Imray, who was allowed to race up the field and get a shot away, which whistled just past the post. No wonder Eddie Howe called his players over during a drinks break.

Lewis Miley soon took matters into his own hands. There was little more than a quarter of an hour on the clock when Miley picked up the ball 25 yards from goal, took a couple of touches and unleashed an absolute rocket past goalkeeper Grant Smith. Rather than celebrate just his second goal for the club, Miley immediately led his team-mates back to their half so that the game could get back under way. It was a sign of the 18-year-old's maturity that he did not let his head drop after Bromley's opener.

Newcastle fans make feelings clear with plea to Martin Dubravka

Eddie Howe had said it was 'business as usual' with Martin Dubravka ahead of this game - and so it proved. The Newcastle United goalkeeper, tellingly, lined up just a few days after those emotional post-match scenes at the Emirates.

Newcastle may have had a host of other goalkeepers in reserve, including Greece number one Odysseas Vlachodimos, but the decision to start Dubravka against League Two opposition felt like a timely reminder of how important the veteran is to this side at the moment, particularly with Nick Pope potentially missing another couple of games.

Newcastle fans certainly made their feelings clear in the second half. The Gallowgate broke into a rendition of 'Oh Martin Dubravka' and after the goalkeeper reacted by subtly applauding them, those fans behind the goal chanted: "We want you to stay. Martin Dubravka - we want you to stay!"

You can see why Dubravka applauded the fans as he made his way around the pitch with the rest of his team-mates after the game. There was no farewell wave. The goalkeeper looked grateful to have those fans behind him.

William Osula offers a glimpse

The first of many? This was an afternoon William Osula will certainly never forget after the striker got off the mark for Newcastle in just his second competitive start for the club and offered a glimpse of the qualities that have excited Newcastle's coaching team behind the scenes in 11 v 11 training games.

An hour or so had been played when Bruno Guimaraes slipped Osula in down the right channel. The striker cut inside defender Callum Reynolds with some tidy footwork and whipped a venomous effort past goalkeeper Grant Smith to make it 3-1 to huge cheers. A couple of minutes later, supporters were singing his name to the tune of 'Tequila'. By the time Osula was replaced by debutant Trevan Sanusi in the 69th minute, Geordies were on their feet to give him a standing ovation.

Eddie Howe left with few selection dilemmas

Newcastle needed no reminding of the pitfalls of these sorts of games. It was at this stage of the competition that Newcastle were humbled here by Cambridge United in Eddie Howe's first cup game in charge while only a penalty from Fabian Schar proved the difference when the Magpies huffed and puffed against AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup earlier this season.

"We can't fall victim to not wanting to win the game enough," Howe vowed. "We can't be loose in our preparation and we will make sure that we're not."

There has been a settled look about Newcastle's team during a seven-game winning streak, so this cup tie served as a rare opportunity for others to stake their claim after Eddie Howe made nine changes. It was a chance for Matt Targett, for instance, to make his first start since November, 2023 while Lewis Miley lined up from the off for the first time in nearly a year. William Osula made just his second competitive start.

Miley and Osula were among those to impress but, on this evidence, Eddie Howe does not have too many selection headaches ahead of the visit of Wolves on Wednesday night.