Fulham stood between Newcastle and a third Carabao Cup semi-final in four seasons, but judging by the mood around St James’ Park, you wouldn’t know it.
Consistency has been Newcastle’s biggest issue this season, but results have been more problematic away from home. That has so often meant that progress has been difficult to measure on home soil.
Yet after Sunday’s timid and passive display in the Wear-Tyne derby against Sunderland, that sense was even more profound.
Lewis Miley delivers again for Newcastle United
Results like that are tough to move on from for any coach at any time, but the manner of the performance and fact it was a continuation of the same frustrating narrative, meant even taking a step closer to a successful cup defence wouldn’t ease the scrutiny on Eddie Howe and his players.
They managed it, but only just. Lewis Miley’s stoppage time header secured victory after Yoane Wissa’s maiden goal for the club on his full debut was cancelled out by a Sasa Lukic leveller.
“It was an unbelievable feeling,” Miley said after the game. “We needed that, to bounce back, and that was the right result for us.
“We are absolutely buzzing. To get through into the semi-final again, it’s massive for us. We obviously won it last year and hopefully we can do the same.”
The upshot of the derby loss was Dan Burn facing a lengthy spell out with a rib injury. A blow at the best of times, but it left Howe woefully short of defensive options. Malick Thiaw, Fabian Schar and Tino Livramento were the only fit senior players at the back, with Lewis Hall suffering a recurrence of a minor hamstring problem, and they started alongside Miley in a makeshift back four.
Livramento hobbling off in the second half was the last thing Howe needed ahead of Chelsea at home on Saturday. Howe was far from confident he would be able to face his former club.
Wissa’s contribution was an undoubted highlight, even putting his goal aside. His desire to run in behind and stretch defences made a huge difference, but he wasn’t as involved as Newcastle would have liked. With the January transfer window looming, a creative midfielder is said to be on the agenda. On this evidence, is very much needed.
But the headline of another, ultimately successful evening, was Miley’s continued growth, and a second headed goal in three games after Bayer Leverkusen.
He has come a long way since being forced to switch comments off on social media after the draw at Bournemouth in August; though he is not a right-back and his role in Lukic’s goal was costly, the fact he is proving himself to be a regular contributor to the team when it matters shows he is ready to take responsibility when called upon.
Given Sandro Tonali's struggles with illness and injury have affected his form, Miley’s improvement is well-timed.
“Obviously the manager trusts me a lot which is great,” he added.
“Hopefully, I can keep doing that so he keeps playing me really. I’ll just keep focusing on myself and keep performing well.
“Having all these top players around me, it just improves me every day and it’s the best for how we can perform and play with each other.”
Losing to Sunderland will leave a lasting impact on the season. Discourse has been intense and rather drastic, calling into question the team’s direction under Howe.
Miley, though, believes the players have shown their togetherness after an instant reprieve, having also rallied around Nick Woltemade after his own goal at the Stadium of Light.
“That performance showed how strong we are as a group, and it was a really good result to get after the weekend.
“Obviously I'm a local lad and it's hard to take that result, but it was important that we bounced back and got that win and we can only look forward now and keep improving on our performances.
“We're all really strong as a group. We all look after each other really and it was a mistake, no one does that on purpose. We don't really focus on things like that and just had to go again and perform really well. Nick came on, performed really well and the whole group did.
“We all looked after him. If anyone was in that position it would be the same. As a group we're really strong together and we just need to keep being like that.”
Taking a step closer to retaining the Carabao Cup was important after such a demoralising result, but it only serves to further illustrate Newcastle’s need to become more consistent.
This can still be a special season, but far too often it has been about recovering from setbacks. Sunday was the biggest yet.
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