Aaron Ramsdale was Newcastle’s hero as they edged past Bournemouth into the FA Cup fourth round on penalties. The on-loan Southampton keeper saved from Evanilson, Álex Jiménez and Bafodé Diakité to seal a 7-6 shootout win after a pulsating encounter had ended 3-3 after 120 minutes on a bitterly cold afternoon.
Marcus Tavernier had taken the tie to penalties with an equaliser in the second minute of stoppage time at the end of extra time seconds after Harvey Barnes thought he had won it for the much-changed Magpies. The hosts had led through a Barnes goal, but trailed 2-1 after Alex Scott and David Brooks scored in quick succession before Anthony Gordon’s late spot-kick.
Andoni Iraola also shuffled his pack, but it was one of the five men he retained, Eli Junior Kroupi, who produced the first attempt on goal when he thumped a fifth-minute shot into Ramsdale’s midriff after running on to Enes Unal’s knockdown.
The hosts would have gone ahead two minutes later had Djordje Petrovic not managed to claw away Yoane Wissa’s curled attempt after Nick Woltemade had turned Barnes’s clever flick into his path.
Ramsdale fielded Kroupi’s shot after the substitute Evanilson, on for the injured Unal, had played him in with his first touch, but the game slipped into a lull as the away side eased themselves back into it.
