Once upon the Tyne, Birmingham's blues were known as Brummie Bashers, but there was only one basher who mattered here in an admittedly feisty FA Cup tie and it was two-goal match winner Joe Willock, part of a raft of Newcastle changes.

In keeping a double Wembley dream alive United reversed a recent trend where the League Cup, never previously a tournament of joy for Mags, had exclusively taken over from Wor Jackie's FA Cup as the domestic trophy of success.

In doing so they also halted an embarrassing FA Cup record under Eddie Howe against League One opposition. While there have been glorious highs reaching Wembley in the Carabao Cup twice 2023 and 2025 plus epic Champions League nights like Paris Saint Germain Howe has also experienced FA Cup humiliation at the hands of Cambridge United and Sheffield Wednesday in his relatively short time on the SJP bucking bronco.

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If he was unbelievably forced to confront the possibility of a hat-trick of exits to League One rivals when Birmingham roared into a shock lead in little more than 40 seconds these current Magpies have enough mettle to fly high and despite a team showing nine changes they powered back to score three times and put to the sword a team used to victory parades two divisions down.

The term Brummie Bashers was dramatically regurgitated during the 1973-74 season when the Mags reached the FA Cup final. United and Birmingham met no fewer than seven times that campaign, six in a six week period having been drawn together in the Texaco Cup and almost inevitably the games became a turf war with bad blood carried over. It all kicked off when Tony Want badly injured Irving Nattrass as a result of an awful tackle and back at SJP Jinky Smith took full retribution in one of the fastest sendings off football has ever witnessed. After only 53 seconds Jinky, normally a ball player of artistry, went in so hard on Want that you could hear the crack round the stadium. Without waiting for the inevitable red card he walked off down the tunnel. United playing with 10 men all match still won 3-1 such was their stirred up passion.

This however was a bashing of a different sort despite the referee flashing more cards than a Las Vegas gambler. What we had was a terrific old-fashioned cup-tie of wonderful chaos, marvellous madness, passion and purpose, punch and counter punch. The underdogs on a high at their own level against top-flight big boys confronted by a vocal home crowd.

What we also had was United's back-up boys staking their claim to be some part of Wembley glory in March. Willock has been an outsider with his nose pressed against the tuck shop window but he scored two and ran his blood to water. Will Osula is a rookie asked to look and learn from seniors but here from outside-right and then centre-forward he produced enough to underline definite promise against admittedly not PL opposition. Nick Pope came back from injury to pull off two super stops and Callum Wilson, without a start since way back in May last year, put us ahead for the first time.

Both had been welcomed back by the worst possible start. Ethan Laird's shot for the opener before half the Newcastle players had even touched the ball came off Wilson and struck Pope on the way into the net. United could have wilted but they are made of sterner stuff these days and played their way back into the tie, went 2-1 up only to be pegged back by a worldie, and still late in the game delivered the killer punch. That's what good sides do.

Maybe Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon terrorise sides in the PL from wide positions but here at a different level starters Osula and Willock tortured those of limited ability. If variety is the spice of life then NUFC are the Spice Boys. Inside a week they have played in the Premier League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup which is quite a spread.

A see-saw of emotions too from the frustration of dropping Champions League points home against Fulham to the sheer ecstasy of dumping on Arsenal's spoilt prima donnas to reach the Carabao Cup final at Wembley and finally on to England's second largest city to make it six successive away victories in all competitions. Startling in itself.

Now there are a few days of welcome relief to repair damaged limbs and exhausted minds before an intense PL challenge against Manchester City (a), Nottingham Forest (h) and Liverpool (a). These are challenging times but wonderful, liberating days of tingling excitement. Onwards and upwards.