Eddie Howe now shares what was the ‘most disappointing thing’ about Newcastle against Blackburn

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Eddie Howe is now one game away from taking Newcastle United back to Wembley.

The Magpies are now in the quarter final of the FA Cup, after beating Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Tuesday night.

It was far from a convincing performance, with Newcastle United needing a penalty shootout to book their place in the next round. Martin Dubravka was the hero, making two saves to continue his side’s FA Cup journey.

It was mission accomplished on Tuesday night. The only objective was to stay in the competition, but there were plenty of disappointing aspects of our performance.

Newcastle were nowhere near their best, and showed no sign of a response after the woeful display against Arsenal just days earlier.

But the most disappointing thing for Eddie Howe was his side’s inability to hold on after taking the lead against Blackburn through Anthony Gordon.

Eddie Howe on what disappointed him about Newcastle during FA Cup win

After the game, Howe spoke to NUFC TV. He explained why he was so disappointed to see his team concede after going in front.

“That was probably the most disappointing thing on the night from our side,” he said.

“We worked so hard to get the lead, and you just hope that one will be enough. Of course we were looking to score and take the game away from Blackburn, but we conceded.

“From that moment, with the crowd up, I thought the players responded really well.”

Newcastle were expected to see it out in normal time

When Newcastle went 1-0 up through Gordon, it felt like all was right with the world. We were not playing well, but should have had enough from that moment to hold on for victory within 90 minutes.

But we let Blackburn back into the game, and a Jamaal Lascelles mistake allowed them to equalise within 10 minutes of us going in front.

That then gave the home fans a lift, and they had some really good opportunities to win the game.

But Newcastle were able to hold on, and held their nerve during the penalty shootout. It was the Magpies’ second shootout of the season, and this one had a much happier ending.

Newcastle certainly were not great on Tuesday night, but they did enough. They are still in the FA Cup, and that is the only thing that matters.