Eddie Howe was evidently not exaggerating when, on the eve of kick-off, he described AFC Wimbledon as “well organised”.
If anything it proved quite an understatement as Johnnie Jackson’s League Two players not merely prevented Newcastle from scoring in open play but succeeded in frequently silencing St James’ Park.
It took a coolly dispatched first-half penalty from the excellent Fabian Schär to book Howe’s team an intriguing last 16 tie at home to Chelsea at the end of a night when Wimbledon failed to produce a shot of note on target but their excellent captain Joe Lewis proved obduracy personified at the heart of his team’s central defensive trinity.
Maybe it was more by accident than design but Riley Harbottle proved emblematic of Wimbledon’s collective defiance when Joe Willock’s volley smacked straight into his face.
Not that any of that pair’s similarly committed teammates were exactly shabby as many of a crowd of almost 52,000 probably had to pinch themselves when they recalled that this time last year, Newcastle were beating Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 here in the Champions League.
As recently as last Saturday Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola suggested that Newcastle are “impossible” to contain for a full 90 minutes but, much as Howe’s players dominated around 80% possession and were never in real danger of defeat, Wimbledon made a pretty good fist of thwarting them.
“A brilliant effort from our guys,” said Jackson, who maintained the penalty should never have been awarded.
Howe had reason to thank his lucky stars it was given following a debate between referee and linesman. “Job done,” said Newcastle’s relieved manager. “We’re through to the next round. It was a very difficult game and I’m frustrated with our attacking play but credit to Wimbledon for the way they defended. They frustrated us.”
The tie was supposed to have been played in London a week ago but when torrential rain led to a sinkhole opening up on the sodden Plough Lane pitch postponement beckoned.
It prompted a switch of venues almost 300 miles north yet Jackson’s team arrived buoyed not merely by a highly promising start to their League Two campaign but having eliminated Premier League Ipswich in the previous round.
Despite making eight changes from the XI that started last Saturday’s draw with City here, Howe – whose club donated £15,000 to the Plough Lane repair efforts – named a strong side constructed around the talents of, among others, Joelinton, Willock and Harvey Barnes.
Given that it was augmented by an even stronger bench featuring Bruno Guimarães, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon Wimbledon had reason to look daunted. Instead they largely held their own, looking pretty comfortable as Newcastle struggled to create clear cut chances.
It dictated that Howe’s former Sheffield United forward, Will Osula, found himself intelligently second guessed and starved of service on his first start.
Granted Jackson’s players were far too concerned with damage limitation to conjure many attacks of their own yet, at times, it was hard to believe 60 League places separated this pair at kick-off.
If the moments when Schär’s brilliant throughball to Miguel Almirón very nearly undid Jackson’s rearguard and a swerving shot unleashed by Barnes’s right boot curved fractionally wide served as reminders that Newcastle could play a bit after all, they were strictly isolated.
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Indeed an unapologetically direct Wimbledon could conceivably have taken the lead when Joe Pigott slipped a low pass to the onrushing Omar Bugiel who was denied by Martin Dubravka’s brave block, leaving the goalkeeper nursing a knee injury that necessitated his replacement by the debutant Odysseas Vlachodimos at the start of the second half.
By then Schär, Howe’s best player here, had sealed victory after being upended in the box by Joe Piggott before Piggott then sent Almirón crashing.
“I’m fuming about it; the first one is a dive and should be a yellow card and the second is a coming together,” said Jackson. “The referee wasn’t going to give the penalty then the linesman got involved. I’m angry.” Howe agreed that there was no foul on Schär but insisted the Almirón challenge merited a penalty.
Significantly as Schär executed a textbook kick, nonchalantly placing the ball out of Owen Goodman’s reach, Howe barely raised a smile. The home manager’s increasingly manic gum chewing had signalled a certain unhappiness with a performance light years removed from that wondrous display against PSG 12 months ago.
“We didn’t move the ball quickly enough,” said Newcastle’s manager. “We weren’t dynamic enough.”
