With their 2-0 Carabao Cup quarterfinal win against Leicester, Newcastle took another step toward breaking their 54-year trophy drought.

Dan Burn scored the game’s opening goal in the 60th minute in front of a raucous crowd at St. James’ Park. Newcastle had dominated play up until that point.
Twelve minutes later, Joelinton increased the lead when he came charging in from the left side and found the same corner that Burn had found.

Leicester, who provided little for huge parts without the still injured James Maddison, did generate a pair of late moments, but replacement Jamie Vardy wasted the best of them by side-footing wide from seven yards out.

For Newcastle, this victory means they will play in the semi-finals of the League Cup for the first time since 1969, when they last won a major prize. This Wednesday night, during the semi-final draw, which will be shown live on Sky Sports, they will find out who they will face in the next round.

When asked about Newcastle’s trophy drought, manager Eddie Howe said: “The wait has been interminable. That’s not a knock on the people who have tried before, but we really need to speed things up and have the squad winning as soon as possible.

“Having said that, we move on to the semi-finals. Reaching the semifinals is impressive, but reaching the championship is what you really desire.” We expect a significant challenge no matter who we face, but we’re just happy to be competing.”

And that’s how Newcastle inched closer to Wembley

The noisy home crowd in Newcastle expected an early goal, and their team almost took the lead within the first 45 seconds when Sean Longstaff missed an easy chance at the back post.

After Joe Willock and Joelinton had connected up effectively down the left, the outstanding Bruno Guimaraes missed the target, and Longstaff had another good chance squandered when Danny Ward cleared his shot off the line.

Despite Newcastle’s dominance, Leicester managed to get to halftime tied at zero. Patson Daka’s decision to cross rather than shoot from the angle proved a foolish one.

Minutes after the resumption, Joelinton had a shot deflect off the foot of the post. The game was still lopsided. Burn then missed a golden opportunity to score off a Kieren Trippier free kick, but his time would come.

The left defender, a former season ticket holder at Newcastle United, sprinted into the penalty area and blasted across Ward and inside the far post, sending the home crowd wild with delight.

Shortly after, Joelinton scored off Miguel Almiron’s assist, knocking out Marc Albrighton, and the stadium erupted once again. The Brazilian, like Burn, beautifully finished in the distant corner.

Going down 2-0 seemed to energise Leicester, and they found some breathing room once Vardy entered the game, but he blew two excellent chances to cut the lead to one: first, he missed an open goal from seven yards out; then, from an acute angle, he missed the target.

There was no one better than Newcastle on this night. And the home crowd enjoyed the party.

Bruno Guimares, the match’s MVP

Co-commentator Andy Hinchcliffe of Sky Sports said: “This player exemplified Newcastle’s entire effort. An ideal combination of force and excellence.”

When it came to getting things done, Guimares was the one who took the lead. In a nutshell, he appeared everywhere. He snuffed out any potential danger from a Leicester counterattack and capitalised on some nice teamwork to go to the goal, but his finishing should have been better. One of the few blemishes on an otherwise bright future for a player whose team is also on the rise.

The Howes: We never give up

During an interview with Sky Sports, Eddie Howe, manager of Newcastle, said the following:

“It had the same vibe as the games against Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday. After several opportunities, we still failed to capitalise on them. Be patient, don’t overthink, and restrain your spending. I feel like we had everything under control. The goals arrived at a suitable juncture. A constant seeker of betterment, you never settle for status quo.

“Once Vardy enters the game, Leicester becomes a serious threat. It was impressive to see how focused the defenders were. We contained them at 0-0.

“Our group is distinguished by their incessant efforts. Our crew has top-notch athletic ability. Also, our players have the mentality to work hard and keep moving forward, which is crucial. We gave it our all in an attempt to see this through.

“Winning is something you should take pleasure in. It is not a common occurrence. You want the players to enjoy the time spent in the locker room because you put in a lot of effort to create it.”

Newcastle was the better team and deserved to win, according to Rodgers

Manager Brendan Rodgers of Leicester, in an interview with Sky Sports:

“To begin, please accept my sincerest felicitations for Newcastle’s advancement to the semifinals. They earned the victory, in my opinion. In short, we were subpar. We had a high turnover rate and a high requirement for touches. There are no disagreements between us. Two easy goals, as well. We have room for improvement there. Even so, Newcastle played better.

“There was yet hope. We made some excellent first-half progress. We created some promising chances in the second half. The game would become more tense if Jamie [Vardy] scored in the final 15 minutes to make the score 2-1. We weren’t able to put enough pressure on them by scoring the deciding goal.”