Newcastle 1 Wimbledon 0: Chelsea learn Carabao Cup opponents as Toon see off visitors after pitch saw fixture postponed
FABIAN SCHAR was spot on to dump Wimbledon out of the League Cup after their sinkhole misery and secure Newcastle a shot at revenge against Chelsea.
The floodgates failed to open as it took a Schar penalty right before halftime to finally breach the League Two outfits’ defence.
ReutersFabian Schar netted for Toon as they beat Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup[/caption]
GettyThe Austrian held his nerve from the spot to open the scoring[/caption]
And while the Dons look to use the cash from fundraising and this cup clash to get Plough Lane sorted, Toon can start plotting for payback on the Blues.
The round-of-16 showdown will be a rematch of last season’s quarter-final where the Magpies suffered late heartbreak at Stamford Bridge.
That evening Eddie Howe’s men looked to have booked a semi-final spot before Mykhaylo Mudryk capitalised on a Kieran Trippier mistake to force a shootout – and it was Chelsea who advanced and went all the way to the final.
This time it will be them making the long journey north, just like their South London neighbours from five miles down the road did yesterday.
The Dons, of course, were due to host this tie only for flooding to cause a huge sinkhole on the Plough Lane pitch.
That led to the football community coming together to raise over £100,000 to help the repair bill, which included a £15,000 donation from Newcastle as well as the use of their ground to stage it.
And the goodwill was on full display from the near 1,500 away supporters before kick off as they held aloft two banners reading “Thank you Toon” and another that read “Thank you everyone”.
The niceties lasted less than ten minutes as Lloyd Kelly was subjected to chant of “you dirty northern b***ard” after a foul.
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That and Miguel Almiron’s offside goal were the only things of note in a tepid first half until Martin Dubravka was caught by Wimbledon striker Omar Bugiel while making a brave save.
That left Howe with a choice of John Ruddy, who turns 38 this month, and £20m summer signing Odysseas Vlachodimos.
It was eventually the Greek international that got the nod at the break, but that was after Schar slotted home from 12 yards after Joe Pigott chopped Almiron in the box.
Riley Harbottle’s jaw denied Joe Willock after the restart as Howe called for Anthony Gordon off the bench.
Dons boss Johnnie Jackson’s game-plan to sit and frustrate worked wonders but they still had not had a shot on target with five to go.
It was time to roll the dice with a triple sub, which took four minutes to make due to a lengthy passage of play, causing one late scare from Harbottle’s long-throw, but it proved too little too late.
PAEddie Howe brought on the big guns as Toon toiled at St James Park[/caption]
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