Newcastle United were held to a 1-1 draw by League One side Rochdale in the third round of the FA Cup today, with forty-year-old substitute Aaron Wilbraham cancelling out Miguel Almiron’s 17th-minute opener with his 79th-minute equalizer.
Rochdale secured a replay at St James’ Park as a result, and even had some goalscoring chances to bag a victory.
Newcastle dominated the opening 45 minutes of the clash and should have put the game to bed were they more clinical in front of goal, with Joelinton and Yoshinori Muto failing to convert their opportunities.
Rochdale – who nearly shocked Manchester United at Old Trafford in the third round of the League Cup in September – were the better side in the second half, constantly testing Newcastle’s defence, and the visitors have Martin Dubravka to thank for his saves.
Toons legend Alan Shearer was impressed with the hosts’ performance, reacting thus to it on Twitter in response to a Rochdale fan:
Deserved it. 👍🏻 https://t.co/7wbX817b8S
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) January 4, 2020
Newcastle will hope to get a win and proceed to the fourth-round when Rochdale come visiting, and head coach Steve Bruce will most likely be handed some key and much-needed injury boosts by then.
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