Match Report
Newcastle United (1) 2-1 (1) Fulham
League Cup Quarter Final 25/26 at St. James' Park
Wednesday 17th December 2025 KO: 20:15
Referee:
Darren England (Barnsley)
Live on Sky Sports and ITV1
|
Fulham conceded a stoppage time goal at St James’ Park to bow out of the Carabao Cup at the Quarter-Final stage.
We had the better of the first half and went into the break at 1-1 after Saša Lukic had cancelled out Yoane Wissa’s opener.
Newcastle United pushed us back in the second period but we held firm and looked set to take the tie to a penalty shoot-out, until Lewis Miley headed home from a corner at the death.
Marco Silva made four changes to the team that beat Burnley in the Premier League at the weekend, three of which were enforced as Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze flew out to Morocco for the Africa Cup of Nations. They were replaced by Jorge Cuenca, Lukic and Kevin, while Benjamin Lecomte – hero of the penalty shootout victory over Wycombe Wanderers in the previous round – came in for Bernd Leno.
Despite Fulham controlling the opening 10 minutes, it was Newcastle who struck first when Wissa reacted instinctively to sweep home after Lecomte pushed Jacob Murphy’s low cross into his path.
But the response from the boys was swift, and expertly executed. Joachim Andersen sprayed a perfect ball out to the advancing Robinson who killed it dead before picking out the run of Lukic, who made no mistake with his header into the corner.
| Match Stats |
Newcastle |
Fulham |
| Goals |
(1) 2 |
1 (1) |
|
| Scorers |
Wissa 10 |
Lukic 16 |
|
Miley 90+2 |
- |
| , |
| Possession |
61% |
39% |
| Goal attempts |
14 |
6 |
| On target |
6 |
3 |
| Shooting Accuracy |
43% |
50% |
| Passes |
463 |
267 |
| Passes Success |
86% |
77% |
| Corners |
5 |
5 |
| Tackles |
15 |
21 |
| Tackles Success |
60% |
71% |
| Saves |
2 |
4 |
| Fouls |
7 |
8 |
| Offsides |
3 |
0 |
| Yellows |
2 |
1 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source: SkySports |
The lads in green were looking confident and some slick touches from Harry Wilson and Emile Smith Rowe presented a chance for Kevin, but his low strike was too close to Aaron Ramsdale.
Lecomte was the next goalkeeper in action, taking no chances as he beat away Bruno Guimaraes’ curler from 25 yards.
Cuenca then made a vital interception to prevent another dangerous Murphy centre reaching Wissa for a tap-in, as the home side looked to end the half strongly.
United began the second half in the ascendancy, though without testing Lecomte until he pushed away a low Harvey Barnes effort shortly before the hour mark.
They thought they’d restored their lead on 65 minutes when a Murphy cross was turned into his own net by Andersen, but the Magpies winger was a good deal offside when the ball was played to him.
Our first attempt on goal of the half followed when a needle-thread pass from Cuenca found Smith Rowe who turned before firing into the midriff of his former Arsenal teammate Ramsdale.
As we entered six minutes of added time, Lecomte pulled off an absolute worldie of a save to push Miley’s placed effort around the post, but the youngster wasn’t to be denied, heading home emphatically from the subsequent corner to win the tie for his side.
Fulham manager Marco Silva
"We love all our boys and all that stuff. They have been working very hard in very difficult circumstances. This season has been very tough for us. All the absences in a very short squad.
"Newcastle were able to refresh almost all the front line to start the game in a completely different way.
"It's completely different realities. If you want to progress, if you want to be able to be in these stages and to be more competitive, of course, it's a step that you have to take.
"Now is the moment to recover the players, to rest them, because it's a game that you need to be as fresh as you can be on Monday, because it's going to be another big game for us."
Newcastle United: Ramsdale, Miley, Thiaw, Schar, Livramento (A Murphy 76), Willock (Tonali 72), B Guimaraes, Ramsey, J Murphy (Elanga 85), Wissa (Woltemade 72), Barnes (Gordon 85)
Unused substitutes: Joelinton, Ruddy, Shahar, Neave
Goals:
Wissa 10 (right footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner.)
Miley 90+2 (header from the left side of the six yard box to the top right corner. Assisted by Sandro Tonali with a cross following a corner.)
Yellow Card: Schär (f,23), Woltemade (f,82)
Fulham: Lecomte, Tete, Andersen, Cuenca, Robinson, Lukic (Reed 45), Berge (Kusi-Asare 93), Wilson, Smith Rowe (King 74), Kevin (Traore 74), Jimenez
Unused substitutes: Leno, Cairney, Castagne, Diop, Ridgeon
Goals:
Sasa Lukic 16 (header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Antonee Robinson with a cross.)
Yellow Card: Lukic (f,29),
Referee:
Darren England (Barnsley)
Attendance: 51,301
Fulham are next in action at 20.00 next Monday, 22nd December, when they welcome Nottingham Forest to the Cottage in the Premier League.