Newcastle United began the defence of their Carabao Cup crown with a comfortable 4-1 win over Bradford. 192 days since the Wembley triumph, United faced the side flying high in League One in the 3rd round, who came into the game hoping to cause an upset. But United were thoroughly professional, and the strong side sent out by Eddie Howe did exactly what it was designed to do— win, and win well.
United’s goals came via a brace from Will Osula and another from Joelinton, and Bradford’s goal came via a crashing effort from boyhood Newcastle fan Andy Cook.
Here are 3 things I liked (and 1 thing I didn’t) from the game last night:
Liked: Scoring some goals (finally)
Being defensively solid is great, and Newcastle have been almost watertight so far this season, only conceding goals to Barcelona and Liverpool (and Bradford, of course), but the lack of goals has already caused a media narrative about ‘attacking transitions’ to begin. It was always going to be that way too, as United sold one of the best strikers in the world this summer and replaced him very late on.
Will Osula took his two goals incredibly well; the run and finish for the first were excellent, with the run being timed perfectly and the first-time finish under the ‘keeper showing a confidence in the lad. Joelinton broke a nine-month goal drought with his brace; again, both goals were well taken, the first via a ricochet off a Bradford defender and the second a solid routine finish.
United were the ultimate professionals on the night and Eddie Howe respected the opposition with a strong starting line-up, even though the gaffer made seven changes again. The squad is looking strong and deep; and that’s with Jacob Ramsey and Yoane Wissa to come back.
The old football adage is ‘goals win games, but defence wins championships’, but it was an ideal tonic to see the ball hit the back of the net four times on Wednesday.
Didn’t Like: Wingers fail to score again
On a positive night, the only negative was the lack of any goals for any of the wingers, and with every passing game it’s going to start to weigh heavily on the squad, especially with Nick Woltemade being our new striker with the way he plays the game.
Gordon aside, none of the wingers in the squad have a goal this season, and concerningly, they haven’t really looked like scoring, and they didn’t last night either. Harvey Barnes has looked lazy at times this season, but he did grab a late assist which will hopefully kickstart his season, although I imagine he will find himself back on the bench on Sunday. Gordon huffed and puffed, but at least he looked dangerous and probably should’ve scored on the night.
I do have a slight concern over Anthony Elanga as I felt last night was the perfect game for him to impose himself on, but it just didn’t quite happen for the Swede. He’s undoubtedly got quality and his pace is frightening, but for £55m, I expected a little more from him against League One opponents. It’s far too early to panic, of course, but he really needs that big moment to jumpstart his Newcastle career; hopefully, it’ll come on Sunday against Arsenal.
Liked: Botman back in a back four
The Dutchman hadn’t started in his preferred left-sided centre-back position for Newcastle since March 2024, which is utter madness when you think about it. Sixteen months, either via injury or being played in a back three, Botman hasn’t played in the position that made him so sought after by clubs across Europe the summer we signed him.
He helped Lille to a Ligue 1 title that season and his first full season with Newcastle saw the club have the best joint defence in the division as United finished fourth. Injury has ravaged him since then, and with only two years left on his contract, it’s a big year for him as he will be targeting a new deal and a berth in the Dutch squad for the World Cup.
Detractors will say ‘it was only Bradford’ but Botman was excellent on the night, rarely troubled and his passing out from the back gives the team another dimension. Throw in Thiaw next to him and Wednesday may’ve been the first glimpse of United’s centre-back pairing for the next ten years.
Liked: Another promising cameo from Big Nick
In the complete opposite to Elanga’s performance, Woltemade’s cameo was another incredibly promising one. His link-up play is first-class and his excellent close control allows him to bring players into the game from all angles.
Big Nick’s ‘expected assists’ stats were amongst the best in the top five European leagues last season and in just 200 or so minutes he has played for United you can see why. He’s able to hold off multiple players with his strength and size, and when he comes deep he drags defenders away, so it’s imperative that other players (but mainly the lightning-quick wingers) contribute by running beyond him as they have to be confident that the German will find him with his passing range.
Woltemade plays more as a ‘deep-lying forward’, almost the diametric opposite of Isak, and it will take time (especially with the limited time on the training pitch) for the players to adapt to his style but the signs are promising. Long may it continue, starting with Arsenal on Sunday.
Keep the faith. HWTL