Newcastle United have made it into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup following a dramatic penalty shootout win against Crystal Palace at St James' Park.
The tie was settled by spot-kicks after a goalless 90 minutes and Nick Pope made three saves to keep out Luka Milivojevic, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Malcolm Ebiowei to send his side into the last 16.
Here are five things we learned from the game.
Nick Pope steps up when Newcastle needed him the most
If Gareth Southgate ends up requiring a penalty shootout specialist at the World Cup, Eddie Howe has just the man for the England boss: Nick Pope. The Newcastle goalkeeper made three saves in the Magpies' dramatic 3-2 shootout win to send his side into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. Was it any wonder 'Nick Pope - in the middle of our goal?' repeatedly rang out around the stadium?
On a night where Sven Botman's spot-kick was saved by Sam Johnstone and Bruno Guimaraes blazed his effort over the bar, Pope bailed his side out after keeping out Luka Milivojevic, Jean-Philippe Mateta and, finally, Malcolm Ebiowei to take the roof off the stadium. To think Pope was Newcastle's cheapest addition last summer.
Newcastle's bench makes impact
It said it all that one of the biggest cheers of the first half was when substitutes Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman and Miguel Almiron went out to warm up. Like in the previous round, at Tranmere, Newcastle had the options on the bench to at least attempt to turn the tie on its head and Eddie Howe called on Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman and Bruno Guimaraes midway through the second half. The trio entered the field to a deafening roar in the 66th minute.
The noise levels increased once more when Miguel Almiron came on in the 78th minute and the man of the moment quickly made an impact. Trippier slipped Almiron in down the right and the in-form Paraguay international fired the ball across goal but Sam Johnstone made the save. It was Newcastle's best chance of the game.
Although Bruno and Botman went on to miss penalties in the shootout, which, of course, can happen to anyone, the duo took on that responsibility and Trippier, crucially, did convert one of his side's spot-kicks.
Few fringe players manage to stake a claim
It shows how serious Eddie Howe is taking the cups that the Newcastle boss' mind was already on this game minutes after moving up to third in the league following a 4-1 win at Southampton at the weekend. Many Newcastle managers have previously vowed to take the cups seriously, but Howe's words carried weight when he vowed to pick a side to win the game once again. Even the measured Howe, after all, has visualised what it would be like to end the club's trophy drought.
Newcastle have fielded a settled side in recent weeks, during a run that saw the Magpies win six of their seven previous fixtures, but Howe made eight changes all told for Palace. In years gone by, that would have seen the standard drop dramatically, but this was still a strong XI featuring Nick Pope, Dan Burn, Matt Targett and Joelinton while Jonjo Shelvey made his first start since April and Allan Saint-Maximin came into the XI for the first time in nearly two months.
There may only be one league fixture left before the World Cup break, but this was still a chance for so many to stake a claim and send a reminder with just a few games to go until the January window opens and Newcastle potentially recruit once again. However, Newcastle ultimately looked like a disjointed side who made eight changes in a strangely flat game that was a world away from the intensity of a Premier League fixture. The Magpies were better after the break - it would not have taken much - but it was only when the substitutes entered the fray that the hosts really upped their game.
A historic night at St James'
This did not feel like a typical third-round tie beforehand; it really was a historic night as Newcastle were backed by their largest-ever home crowd for a League Cup tie. A whopping 51,660 supporters were there to see it on a cold Wednesday night, surpassing the previous record set when the Magpies beat Spurs in a semi-final second-leg at home in 1976. This felt like a glimpse of a future where Newcastle will be able to count on huge crowds - regardless of the competition.
To put that figure into perspective, there were 'only' 30,082 fans present for Newcastle's last all-Premier League cup tie at St James', against Burnley, last season, which ended up proving the final cup game of the Ashley era.
Newcastle's cup run goes on
Newcastle's record in the Carabao Cup was so poor in the Ashley era that the Magpies had only made it into the last 16 once in the previous five seasons. You had to go back even further, to 2014, for the last time Newcastle had even defeated a fellow Premier League side in the competition.
As poor as Newcastle were, this still felt like another small step forward on a night where Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea were all knocked out. Howe's side are now just two victories away from a first League Cup semi-final since 1976.
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