St James' Park announcement confirms shock £20m Newcastle United decision

Fabian Schar’s first-half penalty saw the Magpies edge past the League Two side to set up a meeting with Premier League rivals Chelsea in just under a month’s time. Here’s our five talking points from the match:

Eight changes - but few grasp their opportunity

Eddie Howe made eight changes to his starting XI with only Fabian Schar, Joelinton and Harvey Barnes keeping their place from Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Manchester City.

That handed an opportunity to the likes of Lloyd Kelly, Sean Longstaff, Joe Willock and Miguel Almiron, but it is perhaps safe to say that none of those players - albeit Almiron was one of the better performers on the night - have given Howe a selection headache ahead of the trip to Everton this weekend.

Newcastle were extremely flat and somewhat disjointed in the first-half and only took the lead because Joe Piggot brought down Almiron in the box, resulting in Schar coolly converting from the spot.

After the break, there was an improvement, enough to see United control proceedings without creating too many clear cut chances.

“You go from Manchester City to this game, they're totally different and it's difficult for the players coming in,” Howe said. “But individually you have to put that aside and show your best qualities in order to give yourself the best opportunity of playing again.

“I probably think knowing the standard of the players, some of them didn't do that today, especially the attacking players and I think they'll be disappointed with that.”

Tequila? No, Osula!

Will Osula was handed his first competitive start since his £15million move from Sheffield United, and there was a lot to like about his display.

The Magpies’ staff are committing a lot of time to Osula behind the scenes and it is clear to see why. He has exciting raw ingredients - whether that be his pace, height or work rate, all of which we witnessed against Wimbledon.

Four minutes in, Osula was slipped in by Almiron but couldn’t quite get the ball under control. Around the half-hour mark, the Norwegian under-21s international was able to take a smart touch before striking his effort over the crossbar.

He was largely starved of service but was still able to produce one of Newcastle’s best moments, spinning away from Riley Hartbottle in the 69th minute as his shot hit the side netting.

Then showing the energy and determination to chase several Wimbledon players in an attempt to win the ball back, supporters certainly appreciated what they saw from the 21-year-old, repeatedly chanting his name to the tune of ‘Tequila’.

If United can develop his attributes rightly then they have an explosive player on their hands. But as Howe warned “he still has a lot of work to do.”

Enter the Greek

It was such a shock that even the St James’ Park PA announcer got it wrong, declaring that John Ruddy - not Odysseas Vlachodimos - had replaced Martin Dubravka!

It was, of course, the Greek that entered the fray at half-time after Dubravka was forced to withdraw with a bang to the knee from an earlier collision with Omar Bugiel. No.1 Nick Pope sat out altogether because of a swollen knee.

With Ruddy previously named in matchday squads ahead of Vlachodimos, it was a debut no-one seen coming.

It was a heartening moment for a player who has sadly been used as a pawn in a PSR-game. Newcastle had no interest in signing Vlachodimos but had little choice but to take him as part of the £35million deal that saw Elliot Anderson join Nottingham Forest.

Ultimately, he cost the Magpies an eye-watering £20m but no matter what happens, or how many times he plays, the Greek spared the club a certain points deduction.

And FWIW, I’ve liked the look of Vlachodimos. Against Wimbledon, he did well to claim crosses and distributed the ball confidently.

Football friends

Newcastle United - and the football world - have rallied around AFC Wimbledon over the last seven days, and everyone associated with the League Two outfit were keen to show their gratitude.

Significant flooding and damage to the Plough Lane pitch prevented this tie taking place in South London as scheduled. But in truly fantastic fashion, a negative was turned into a positive.

The swift switch to St James’ Park will see the Dons gain 45% of the gate receipts - as per Carabao Cup rules. While it would have been special for the Johnnie Jackson’s side to host Newcastle, financially it is much more beneficial as the club earn a share of the 51,000 tickets sold instead of 9,000.

In addition, the Magpies also donated £15,000 towards the fundraiser, which currently sits on £123,040. You can see why Wimbledon fans displayed a 'Thank you NUFC' banner before kick-off and at points during the game.

Johnnie Jackson & Wimbledon frustration

The recently established bond between the two clubs went out the window when both sets of players crossed the white line, and Wimbledon boss Johnnie Jackson pulled no punches in his post-match press conference.

His anger and frustration was directed purely at the officials after what he felt was the wrong decision to award Newcastle a penalty. Jackson accused Schar of diving under a challenge from Piggot before the Dons forward clipped Almiron seconds later.

Referee Darren Bond initially waived play on but pointed to the spot after taking the advice of his linesman.

“Like we’re not up against it enough coming here as the underdog, we don’t need a linesman getting involved, the referee is there to referee the game,” said Jackson/

“I’m angry about that one. I don’t see that happening at the other end. For that to be the difference in the game tells you a lot about my team. The way we went about our game plan and task, Newcastle know they’ve been in a real game.”