Howe ‘pleased to bounce back’ from Sunderland defeat and sets sights on another triumph as Miley sends Newcastle to semi-finals

Eddie Howe was pleased to see his Newcastle side bounce back from their defeat in the Tyne-Wear derby after sealing their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals once again witth a late 2-1 win over Fulham.

The tie looked to be heading for penalties after Sasa Lukic cancelled out Yoane Wissa’s first goal for Newcastle but Lewis Miley’s header in the second minute of stoppage time ensured they reached the Carabao Cup semi-finals for the third time in four seasons.

Howe has come under pressure after their toothless display in the 1-0 defeat to arch-rivals Sunderland but chose to look forward to the prospect of defending their Carabao Cup crown, with Manchester City awaiting them in the semi-finals after they saw off Brentford 2-0.

The Magpies boss told Sky Sports: “Really pleased, tough game. It was always going to be. Back on home soil, we controlled the game. We deserved to win.

“It was important to bounce back from Sunderland, to come back in a positive fashion.

We want to be competitive and win trophies – this one we had a great experience last year we want to do that again but it will be tough with the teams left in the competition.

“The will and drive to win was there. We gave everything even in difficult moments. The challenge is to grow and improve.”

Match-winner Miley: ‘Unreal feeling’

Miley was the man to come up with the all-important goal at the death and the academy star set his sights on the Magpies defending the Carabao Cup title in the new year.

He said: “[It’s a] great feeling. I thought I’d try to flick it on, and it luckily hit the back of the net and I’m buzzing.

“It’s an unreal feeling. I grew up here, it couldn’t be a better feeling and hopefully we progress to the final.

“We won it last season and hopefully we can do that again this year.

“The last result wasn’t good for us, but getting that win tonight was good for us.”

Howe added: “Brilliant performance from a talented young player. He hasn’t played right-back a lot and had to take on a lot of information this morning so he did really well.

“He’s here on merit, he believes that he’s more than good enough to play at this level. Not just play but excel and he’s taking his game to another level and I think we’re seeing that now.”

Wissa up and running

It was also a positive night for Wissa, who scored his first goal since his £55million move from Brentford after a hellish start to life at St James’ Park with persistent injury issues.

The Congolese striker added: “I was smiling when I came on the pitch. I did enjoy today, a lot of work to do. Happy we got the win today.

“It’s always special. I’ve been here and knew it was special. Now playing with the Newcastle shirt, it is different. Very happy today.

“Winning a cup is special. They did it last year when I wasn’t there, so now I want to do it.”