Newcastle United’s local heroes hail ‘emotional’ night as Magpies secure Wembley place in Carabao Cup Final

Newcastle United’s local heroes Sean Longstaff and Dan Burn reflected on a special night at St James Park after the Magpies secured their first major cup final at Wembley since 1999.

The Magpies were strong favourites to press home their narrow advantage from the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie with Premier League rivals Southampton.

Eddie Howe’s side could not have wished for a better start as Geordie midfielder Longstaff fired them in front with just five minutes on the clock before doubling his tally and his side’s lead with a clinical finish just before the midway points of the first-half.

The Saints pulled a goal back when Che Adams netted on the half-hour mark and the visitors enjoyed large periods of possession during the second-half. Their hopes of pulling off a shock comeback were enhanced when Bruno Guimaraes was shown a straight red card following a VAR review after initially being shown a yellow for a foul on Sam Edozie.

But United showed their resilient side to see out almost ten minutes of injury-time and keep alive their chances of landing major domestic silverware for the first time since 1955.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Longstaff shrugged off personal accolades and revealed his pride at the performance of everyone involved at St James Park.

He said: “It’s a really special night, not just for me, but for every person from Newcastle.

“It’s been such a long time since there’s been a night like this so to spend it with our group, obviously with me and Burny being from here, it’s just a special night.

“All of the energy left my body when I celebrated (the second goal) and I was knackered after that. I remember walking in and I saw Shay (Given) and said I can’t believe I haven’t scored here in four years. He said you’re getting in the right positions, just keep getting there.

“I scored a couple tonight, but it’s not about me, it’s about the team and what the manager has put together here and I’m just so proud of everyone.”

The win caps off a remarkable year for Blyth-born Burn after he returned to his boyhood club 12 months ago.

The former Brighton and Hove Albion defender helped fire United into the semi-final with his first goal for the Magpies in their quarter-final win over Leicester City and he revealed securing a place at Wembley had left him emotional.

“It’s hard to (sum it up). I said I’ve never played in an atmosphere like this before and I was saying to Longy before the game I could feel myself getting emotional because the place was bouncing.

“We started off really well, scored two good goals, let them back into it a little bit but I’m just really happy to get over the line and get a trip to Wembley for the fans.”

The Magpies will discover their final opponents on Wednesday night when Manchester United head into the second leg of their tie with Nottingham Forest with a 3-0 lead.