Eddie Howe says Newcastle have a brilliant set-piece taker who’s barely trained recently

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Newcastle United advanced to the quarter finals of the FA Cup on Tuesday night, and they welcomed a key player back from injury.

All the talk after the game was about Martin Dubravka’s penalty heroics, and rightly so. However, there was also another Newcastle hero during the shootout.

The Magpies scored four out of their five spot-kicks, one of which was converted by Elliot Anderson.

The 21-year-old was making his first appearance since October, having finally recovered from a back injury. He came on in extra time to replace Lewis Miley, with the specific intention of taking a penalty.

Anderson did just that and converted from 12 yards, playing a part in helping Newcastle into the quarter finals of the FA Cup.

It is excellent to have the local lad back after so long out. He had been playing very well before his injury, and no longer looked like a youngster still trying to make the step up to senior football.

Now he is back, and Eddie Howe took the first opportunity he had to put his faith in Anderson.

Eddie Howe delighted with Elliot Anderson on his Newcastle return

Following the FA Cup win over Blackburn Rovers, Howe spoke to the Northern Echo. He took time to praise Anderson following his comeback from a back injury.

“I think it’s worth noting how much I trust him [Anderson], because in that moment, I was bringing him onto the pitch to take a penalty,” he said.

“I took Lewie (Miley) off and brought Elliot on because I trust him in those big moments.

“He’s technically very good. He’s a specialist set-piece taker really, a penalty taker, but he hasn’t played and he hasn’t really trained.

“He has worked incredibly hard on his rehab, and he looks really fit, so I’ve been really pleased with him, but he’s coming in cold, really. So it’s big credit to him for how he took his penalty.”

Anderson justifies Newcastle manager’s faith

Howe trusted Anderson to take a penalty, and he justified that faith by finding the back of the net.

It was an important moment for Anderson, who must have felt a huge sense of relief when his penalty went in. It was his moment after months out of action, having worked so hard behind the scenes to get fit again.

Now the midfielder is back, and it is going to be exciting to see what he does between now and the end of the season. It is another body to flesh out Howe’s squad, while Anderson will be keen to pick up where he left off before his injury.

Throughout all the fanfare surrounding Lewis Miley, some fans seem to have forgotten just how good Anderson is. He is another academy graduate with a bright future in black and white, and it is fantastic to finally have him back from injury.