SCOTT ROBSON goes looking for hen’s teeth and incredibly finds two.  A Newcastle United away win, and a Fourth Round win in the Cup…

NEWCASTLE: Given, Hughes, Distin, O’Brien, Elliott, Bernard (Quinn 78), Solano, Acuna, McClen (Kerr 90), Shearer, Bellamy. 

GOALS: Peterborough (O’Brien (og) 52; Farrell 79); Newcastle (O’Brien 14, McClen 43, Shearer 84, Hughes 85)

***

First of all, hands up. A Friday flashback for the Fourth Round of the FA Cup which actually ends well is hard to find. Since 1990 we have won seven fourth round ties without a replay. In our last ten fourth round appearances (those stretch back to 2004) we have beaten only Cheltenham and Coventry without replays. The Oxford game pre-Covid stirred the loins (one lad in particular) but that was a replay and lost out on the flashback due to the fact the first game was that mind-numbingly bad I was on the verge of chucking it all in after that match and i’ve seen some bad ones over the years.

So as we head down to the Thames at a stupid time of night on a Channel that usually shows repeats of the Bill, I have looked to 2002 as a fondly remembered Fourth Round tie rather than ones that want you to stop watching football. Hello Oxford again, in 2017.    

For the television this match had it all.  The muddy pitch, the underdog, the comeback, the usual Newcastle capitulation. However unlike Hereford United and Bedford we got out unscathed from a strange old day. London Road is mint. It was great in the promotion year under Keegan and was great in the promotion year under Hughton. Peterborough is one of my favourite away trips but the pitch is always soaking, it’s always muddy. All the way down it poured. The day looked like it would never happen and if it hadn’t been live on television (Sky if i can remember) it probably wouldn’t have. Our buses got held in what looked like the car park of an Alan Partridge style Travel Tavern (equidistant between Peterborough and Newcastle I assume) while the pitch inspection took place. It didn’t look good to be honest and although the thought of heading straight back up the A1 was hard to stomach it looked the most likely outcome. Much to our surprise the pitch was passed fit and after trundling into Peterborough far too close for comfort, we entered the ground to be faced with a pitch that could be kindly called a ‘leveller’. Great, all we needed.

United were unbelievably in second place in the Premiership. Bobby Robson had turned a group of players used to being also-rans into Champions League qualifiers. In late January we had won eight out of the last ten games. Nowt was a bother. Peterborough were in Division Two but Barry Fry and Darren Ferguson had the press eating out the palm of their hands the previous week, trying to get the sort of dysfunctional rise we had got from Dalglish when Stevenage tried it on a few years before. Robson had too much class for that. 

To be honest we started the game carrying on where we had left off all season. Andy O’Brien scrambled us in front after a Solano corner was nodded down and despite the pitch being a bog we were spraying it around ok and looked comfortable. They hit the post, but Bellamy should have scored three and had a penalty. I was in the away support on the wing and watched as the standing hordes behind the goal went mad. I even asked a steward if I could go in there. He was never saying yes was he? Just before half time it looked like we had killed the tie when Shearer was completely taken out from behind just outside the box, the ball fell nicely for Jamie McClen who strode on and drilled in. It was McClen’s only United career goal, but he did once get sent off in a Northumberland Senior Cup tie for saying his name was Santa Claus when asked by the referee. It was late December, not May by the way.

Done and dusted eh? This is Newcastle we are talking about.

We just didn’t come out after half time. The rain was replaced by wind and the pitch got worse. Essentially we didn’t fancy it. O’Brien scored a bizarre headed own goal under no pressure to reawaken the tie and after several near misses, Peterborough, roared on by the capacity home crowd, equalised with ten minutes left. Farrell, cutting in unchallenged, fired low past Given. Fry danced up the touchline. It was unbearable. Only one side looked like winning at that point. Peterborough should have won it when Finn went clean through but Given saved the day, not for the first time in his United career.

Miraculously we dusted ourselves down and quickly went back in front. With six minutes to go, McKenzie was ruled to have handled and Shearer stepped up and lashed in the pen. It was debatable, but it was the break we needed. Aye, we probably got lucky. Seconds later goalscorer extraordinaire Aaron Hughes made the game safe after assist extraordinaire Wayne Quinn crossed. Heady days. Newcastle would go through in the mud and a rare fourth round win. We eventually went out in the next round against Arsenal in a replay at Highbury having drawn at home. God knows what Peterborough did that year but god they made us work for it.

Hopefully Fulham is a straightforward win rather than a nerve shredding win or an eye bleeding defeat.

Newcastle in the fourth round though? It’s usually the latter.

SCOTT ROBSON

(Image: Wikimedia Commons)