Newcastle United will be looking to end a 56-year wait for silverware when they take on Liverpool in the EFL Cup final at Wembley on Sunday afternoon.
The Magpies have not lifted a trophy since winning the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup back in 1969, and they have had to wait even longer for a domestic honour, having not won an English trophy since lifting the FA Cup in 1955.
The Magpies have reached two EFL Cup finals in their entire history, and they have yet to come away from Wembley with the trophy.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at Newcastle’s record in past EFL Cup finals before Eddie Howe‘s men aim to bring the cup home for the first time in the club’s history.
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Newcastle’s first appearance in the League Cup final came in 1976, when the competition was in its relatively early stages, with the first final being played 15 years earlier in 1961.
Before reaching Wembley in 1976, the Magpies had never made it beyond the quarter-finals of the competition in the previous 15 attempts, and they faced Manchester City in the capital, with the Citizens hoping to lift their second League Cup title, having beaten West Bromwich Albion in the 1970 final.
Newcastle’s route to the final saw them overcome Southport, Bristol Rovers, Queens Park Rangers, Notts County and Tottenham Hotspur, with the Magpies coming back from 1-0 down in the first leg against Spurs to win 3-2 on aggregate and booking their place against City in the final.
The two clubs had already met in a cup final at the national stadium, having contested the FA Cup final in 1955, with the Magpies winning 3-1 on that occasion.
In the 1976 final, Peter Barnes gave the Manchester side the lead in the 11th minute, before Alan Gowling‘s equaliser for Newcastle 24 minutes later set up a fascinating second half of the final.
A spectacular overhead kick by Dennis Tueart in the opening stages of the second half proved to be the winner, as City went on to lift the trophy in London.
That triumph would be City’s last major trophy for 35 years, as they endured a drought that was not ended until their FA Cup final win against Stoke City in 2011.
For the Magpies, the defeat marked their last League Cup final appearance for 47 years, and it went down as one of just several near misses in their quest for silverware over the years.
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After years of misery under the ownership of Mike Ashley, the Saudi Arabian-backed takeover of Newcastle in 2021 ushered in a new era at the club, one that filled the Toon Army faithful with plenty of hope for the future.
One of their first moves was to replace Steve Bruce in the dugout at St. James’ Park, with former Bournemouth boss Howe chosen as his successor.
Despite having the backing of wealthy investors, it was still difficult to envisage Newcastle turning into a side that were capable of challenging for trophies as quickly as they did.
Just over a year after the takeover at the club, Newcastle went from a side that were battling relegation in the Premier League to League Cup finalists in 2023, the same year that they qualified for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.
After beating Tranmere Rovers, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Leicester City to reach the semi-finals, Newcastle beat Southampton 3-1 on aggregate over a two-legged semi-final to book their place at Wembley against Manchester United.
Before 2023, Newcastle had not competed in a cup final since 1999, when they were beaten 2-0 by the Red Devils in the FA Cup final, as Sir Alex Ferguson‘s men went on to lift a famous treble that season.
Much of the talk surrounding Newcastle heading into the final was the absence of goalkeeper Nick Pope, who was sent off in the Premier League clash with Liverpool a week earlier, meaning that he was suspended for the final.
Backup goalkeeper Martin Dubravka had spent the first half of the 2022-23 campaign on loan at Old Trafford, and having played for the Red Devils in the competition earlier in the season, he was cup-tied for the final.
That left the Magpies down to their third-choice goalkeeper, Loris Karius, who made his debut for the club in the final, and he was best remembered for his errors in the 2018 Champions League final that helped Real Madrid overcome Liverpool.
Nevertheless, the Newcastle fans flocked to Wembley in their numbers in the hope of a positive outcome in the showpiece event.
Unfortunately for the Magpies, it was not their day, as Erik ten Hag claimed his first piece of silverware in English football, as just like in the 1999 FA Cup final, it finished 2-0 to Manchester United.
Goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford in the first half were enough to help the Red Devils end a six-year wait for silverware, having not lifted a trophy since their Europa League final victory against Ajax in 2017.
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