Newcastle United are eliminated in the fourth round of the FA Cup

Watford earned a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United at St. James’ Park to advance to the final 16 of the FA Cup.

St. James’ Park was far from being full for this fourth round clash between Newcastle United and Watford, but 34,600 supporters still made their way to the ground to see their Magpies in action. Unfortunately, the Toon Army had to witness their team fall to Watford, failing to reach the final 16 for the 14th consecutive year.

First Half

The first few minutes of this match were lively for both clubs. Newcastle did well to threaten Watford’s goal in the second minute from a set piece, but it was the visitors who came closest to scoring in the fourth minute with a powerful strike from Domingos Quina that bounced off Freddie Woodman.

An ill-advised tackle from Isaac Hayden almost gifted Watford with a penalty, but instead the visitors got a free-kick just outside the box. Fortunately for Newcastle, the close range effort went over the bar. The match started to slow down for the next 20 minutes as both teams simply traded possession and no meaningful scoring chances were created. In total, both teams had a combined total of three shot attempts in the first 30 minutes – two for Watford, one for Newcastle.

Overall, apart from the opening ten minutes, the first half of this match was uneventful. Newcastle managed to complete 160 passes in the first 45 minutes of action, but the majority of those passes were completed in their own half among defenders. As a result, the score going into the break was 0-0.

Second Half

Watford had more energy to start the second half of this affair and they created the first chance in the 48th minute. Andre Gray received a good ball from Will Hughes and he dribbled into the penalty area, but he fired his shot over the bar.

The 62nd minute saw Gray receive another ball from Hughes in the penalty area and this time the striker was able to drill it in the back of the net. Both teams looked dismal, but Watford was the better side for most of the match and their effort was rewarded with an impressive goal.

Newcastle did well to react after conceding the goal, though, as Javier Manquillo came close to scoring by chipping the keeper, but his effort was cleared just before crossing the liner.  Newcastle continued to boost their attack in the 71st minute when Jacob Murphy and Matt Ritchie made way for Christian Atsu and Ayoze Perez in a double swap.

Despite the introduction of some fresh legs, the Magpies failed to score. Perez came close to scoring the equalizer in the late stages of the match, but his effort just went over the bar. Two minutes later it was Isaac Success who scored the second goal of the match and extended Watford’s lead. Watford deserved the victory and Newcastle’s elimination from the FA Cup enables them to focus on their Premier League relegation battle.