Howe joy as Newcastle end 'years of hurt'

LONDON - Eddie Howe hailed his Newcastle history makers as they ended 56 "years of hurt" with a 2-1 win against Liverpool in the League Cup final on Sunday.

Goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak put Newcastle in dreamland at Wembley, with Federico Chiesa's strike in the closing minutes coming too late to save the Premier League leaders.

Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot (R) and Newcastle United's English head coach Eddie Howe (L) watch from the touchline during the English League Cup final football match between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium, north-west London on March 16, 2025. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP)

It was Newcastle's first major trophy since the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and their first significant domestic prize since lifting the FA Cup 70 years ago.

After losing the 2023 League Cup final against Manchester United, Howe admitted he was overwhelmed to finally bring silverware back to St James' Park.

"I've been emotional all day to be honest, which is very unlike me around the game day," he said.

"But we just knew what was at stake today for all the people here, all the people back in Newcastle and we just wanted to do them proud.

"We were desperate to try and win the trophy after all the years of hurt.

"We are breaking new ground, I thought we were magnificent today."

Howe is the first English manager to win a major domestic trophy in England since Harry Redknapp lifted the 2008 FA Cup with Portsmouth.

Sixth-placed Newcastle are 23 points behind champions-elect Liverpool and hadn't beaten them in all competitions since 2015.

But the Magpies bridged the gap with a dynamic display that was a tribute to Howe's astute game-plan.

They took advantage of Liverpool's aerial weaknesses, launched incisive counter-attacks and pressured the lethargic Reds into submission.

"I'm so pleased not just with the result, but with the performance. I thought we deserved the win today," Howe said.

"It was tough when Liverpool scored. I was thinking about extra time. We always make it difficult for ourselves it was never going to be 2-0.

"We worked consistently for two weeks on set plays just for this game and if you had seen us in practice you would have said we had no chance.

"We couldn't believe Dan Burn scored, he didn't train like that! He was a colossus for us."

Howe out-foxed Liverpool boss Arne Slot, admitting he did not use his most effective tactics in their 2-0 loss at Anfield in February in a bid to keep some surprises in store for the final.

"We didn't want to show our hand when we played them a few weeks ago, we still wanted to win that game we just did it in a different way," he said.

"Both teams were quite direct and we dealt with that really well. Nobody wanted to make a mistake, there wasn't much pretty football played but we were effective in both boxes."

Howe's plan worked a treat and he is ready to soak up a party over 50 years in the making before focusing on Newcastle's bid to qualify for next season's Champions League.

"I want to enjoy it. I am always about tomorrow but I'll put the coaching books away for a few days," he said. - AFP