'But...' - Alan Shearer sends Newcastle United Women message ahead of cup final

Alan Shearer will be roaring on Newcastle United Women when they aim to end the club’s trophy curse this weekend.

The Magpies travel to Luton Town’s Kenilworth Road to face Hashtag United on Saturday - with the FA Women’s National League Cup up for grabs. Becky Langley’s side dispatched Portsmouth 2-1 in the previous round to book their date with destiny.

The competition is the equivalent of the EFL Trophy in the men’s game and presents Newcastle’s female outfit with an opportunity to win their biggest honour yet. They face Hashtag, a club spawned from YouTube in 2016, who have beaten Halifax and London Bees in previous rounds.

Geordies have been starved of silverware, with the men last clinching domestic glory in 1955. A 2-0 defeat to Manchester City eliminated Eddie Howe’s men from the FA Cup - extending the trophy drought to 70 years.

Shearer himself came within a whisker of leading Newcastle to victory. Cup-final losses in 1998 and 1999 still sting the Magpies’ all-time leading goalscoring, whose debut campaign also saw a second-placed finish.

Speaking to The Athletic, the 53-year-old backed the Lasses to go one better at Kenilworth Road. He said: “Winning something isn’t easy. I won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers and I know how much effort and dedication it took on behalf of an entire club.

“It wasn’t for the want of trying that it didn’t happen at Newcastle. It was always the aim and we went close a few times, but it never quite happened. I hope Becky and her players bring the cup home. They’ve been magnificent this season.”