Almiron propels Newcastle past West Brom in the FA Cup

In their FA Cup fifth-round matchup, Newcastle United defeated West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns.

Newcastle United and their supporters waited quite awhile for the club to play beyond the fourth round of the FA Cup. The Magpies did not disappoint as they flew past West Bromwich Albion in the fifth round by a 3-2 scoreline on the road. Miguel Almiron scored a brace and Valentino Lazaro was in the right place at the right time for goal #3.

The first NUFC goal was created by a run from Allan Saint-Maximin. He pressed forward from mid-pitch and played a beautiful pass through to Almiron, who had sliced through the West Brom defense, and he converted the opener. A Joelinton back heel pass set up the Paraguayan for the second tally of the day. Saint-Maximin was integral to the third goal, too. He played a cross in towards Lazaro and West Brom goalkeeper Jonathan Bond couldn’t collect the ball and it went into the back of the net off of Lazaro’s midsection.

After Steve Bruce substituted off Almiron, momentum swung towards West Brom. The Baggies pulled back as Newcastle struggled to clear the ball and a second cross in led to a goal from Matt Phillips. Dwight Gayle should’ve played the ball to Jonjo Shelvey to close things out, but he had a pass intercepted on the break. WBA took advantage of the door staying open and scored the second goal in stoppage time.

Now, Newcastle United have officially returned to the competition’s quarter-finals for the first time since the 2005-06 tournament when they were bounced by Chelsea. The draw will take place tomorrow as Newcastle will be matched up with Arsenal, Chelsea, or the winner of one of the five remaining fifth-round matches.