Eddie Howe was delighted to see his Newcastle advance in the FA Cup at Birmingham’s expense.
It was a tough task for the Magpies, who had to battle to a 3-2 win over the Midlands side.
Joe Willock bagged a brace and Callum Wilson scored for the visitors, but Birmingham were level inside the final 10 minutes.
In the end, the extra legs and quality from the Premier League side were enough to get the job done, and that was all that Howe cared about.
Speaking after the game, he said: “It was a tough game for us. Mentally, physically – you could see a few players were on the edge today. We’re delighted to get through.
“I thought it was going to be a difficult night before the game. [The early goal] made it doubly difficult because the atmosphere in the stadium totally changed.
The boss on our 3-2 win at St. Andrew’s 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/iKTbcHIULC
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) February 8, 2025
“We managed to get a foothold and did really well. At half-time it was about staying calm. I thought we did that a lot better in the second half.”
“In the last couple of weeks we seem to have picked up a couple. It would be the last thing [we need] to derail us. We have such a small squad. Last season we had big numbers of players out and it disrupted us in the middle of the season.
“We were forced to take Dan Burn off. It was something with his groin. Fingers crossed it’s not too bad.”
Willock, who had an brilliant game, echoed his manager’s words.
He added: “I was just trying to give my best. It has not been an easy season for me, I’ve been waiting for my chance to push on and hopefully this is the start of the rest of my season.
“It’s very exciting times. It’s not an easy place to come to, we want to thank the fans. Hopefully we can go one better this time in the Carabao Cup [final] and far in this competition.”
