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Even having club soccer’s richest owners cannot improve Newcastle’s pitiful record in the FA Cup.
Newcastle were humbled by a lower-league opponent in the third round of the famous old competition for the second straight year under its Saudi owners, losing at third-tier Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 on Saturday.
At the same stage last year they were beaten at home by another third-tier club, Cambridge United.
Two other Premier League teams – Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth – were also knocked out by lower-league opposition, in Blackpool and Burnley respectively, but neither represented a major shock given they fielded weakened lineups with top-flight survival their priority.
Newcastle’s elimination was a big surprise, with Josh Windass scoring for Wednesday in the 52nd and 65th minutes before Bruno Guimaraes pulled one back in the 69th.
“It’s one of the proudest moments in my managerial career,” Wednesday manager Darren Moore told the BBC. “I’m really pleased for everybody at the club and I’m delighted for the players. We were up against a really good team and put in an excellent performance.”
Mark McGuinness of Sheffield Wednesday celebrates as Newcastle players look dejected. (Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Newcastle have advanced beyond the fourth round of the FA Cup only once since 2006. There will be at least one non-league team in the fourth round – Wrexham, the fifth-tier team with the Hollywood owners.
The Welsh club, owned since 2020 by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, won at second-tier Coventry 4-3.
“I’m completely and totally speechless,” Reynolds tweeted to his 21 million followers. “What a club. What a town. What a win.”
Burnley’s 4-2 win at Bournemouth did not come as a huge surprise, given the Clarets are top of the second-tier Championship and only five places lower in the pyramid.
In the other upset of the day, Forest were beaten at Blackpool 4-1.
Alexis Mac Allister and Harry Kane returned to English soccer after the World Cup in very different states of mind – one as a champion, the other distraught after a costly missed penalty.
They have both slipped back into action seamlessly.
Mac Allister, who starred in Argentina’s run to the title in Qatar, was a halftime replacement for Brighton after his extended break back home and scored twice in the team’s 5-1 win over second-tier Middlesbrough.
Kane, the England striker who missed a late penalty in the loss to France in the World Cup quarter-finals, has been back for a while and has settled into a strong run of scoring form for Tottenham.
His fourth goal in four games came in Tottenham’s 1-0 win over third-tier Portsmouth.
Kane says he’s trying not to think about becoming Tottenham’s record goalscorer after moving to within one of Jimmy Greaves’ tally.
Kane’s 50th-minute curled effort in the third-round tie on Saturday took him up to 265 goals for Spurs and within touching distance of Greaves’ feat, which has stood since 1970.
It helped Antonio Conte’s side edge past a dogged Pompey side, who sacked manager Danny Cowley on Monday after a poor run in the third-tier League One.
“I try to not think about it,” Kane told BBC Sport about Greaves’ record.
“Sometimes you can think too much. Obviously, I feel in good form and I feel fit. My mindset is to help the team and, hopefully, the goals will come.
“It was a tough game. We were clear favourites and people probably expected a bigger score but credit to them, they stayed compact and made it difficult.
“We thought after the first it might open up but they stopped us getting the second one. It’s good to get through – that was the objective – and we’ll see who we get next.”
Kane’s strike was his 17th goal of the campaign and made it four in four games since he returned from the World Cup where his missed penalty saw England exit the competition in the quarter-final stage following a 2-1 defeat to France.
Tottenham assistant Cristian Stellini, who again filled in for boss Antonio Conte after Friday’s death of his former Juventus teammate Gianluca Vialli, said: “Harry is amazing. When you see Harry play, you feel and enjoy the football.
“This is football. If you take a penalty you can miss but you have to go through the next game. He has the mentality. To be an amazing player, you need to be like Harry.”
Also in the third round, Southampton ousted fellow Premier League team Crystal Palace 2-1, while Kelechi Iheanacho scored for 2021 champions Leicester in their 1-0 win at fourth-tier Gillingham.
Fulham won at second-tier Hull 2-0, while Said Benrahma scored the only goal of the game as West Ham triumphed 1-0 at his former club Brentford.
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