We must stop beating like this....

For the second time in just four days, Newcastle conjured up an improbable conclusion to a game, putting their fans through agony before somehow finding a way to win once again. Good luck to anyone attempting dry January with this lot...

Despite a brace from Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon's penalty conversion, United ultimately advanced thanks to an inspirational display from Aaron Ramsdale, saving three spot kicks in the shootout.

A scoreless opening 45 minutes gave little clue as to what lay in store at Gallowgate, before the deadlock was broken when in-form Barnes took Nick Woltemade's pass and confidently firing in.

That spurred the Cherries into action and Evanilson twice came close to levelling as the Magpies yet again conceded territory too easily after going ahead. Ramsdale denied the Brazilian once and then deflecting a shot into his path, only an offside flag preserving the home side's advantage.

Sven Botman then rattled the Bournemouth crossbar from Lewis Hall's right wing corner, but the Cherries drew level soon after that when Alex Scott tapped home Evanilson's pass.

Worse was follow as David Brooks out-paced Kieran Trippier before curling a 20 yarder beyond former Cherries team mate Ramsdale to put Andoni Iraola's side ahead. On a day when Kevin Keegan was again commemorated with flags and songs, that passage of play brought to mind KK's 1984 Anfield return in the FA Cup when Mark Lawrenson showed him a clean pair of heels.

Bournemouth's lead lasted until the fifth minute of second half added time, by which time United had made four replacements including the arrival of their talismanic number 39 to no avail (our working title for the match report at this point was "No Bruno, no party", reflecting our lack of punch).

That all changed when Gordon's precise pass opened up the Cherries, goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic sending Sandro Tonali tumbling in the box and Gordon obliged from 12 yards to prompt extra time.

Barnes then looked to have won it with a goal that was even later than the one he supplied to beat Leeds in midweek; heading home Gordon's perfect centre with 118 minutes on the clock.

There were to be further twists to this Toon tale however: Marcus Tavernier wriggling past Sven Botman to tucking the ball away amid general incredulity near the end of two additional minutes. Comically bad timing saw customer satisfaction survey emails delivered at this point to those lucky few in the ground with a working internet signal.

Even after that showstopper, there was still time for one last opportunity for Newcastle to clinch victory as Barnes laid a tempting ball across the box from the right into the path of Gordon - who somehow avoided contact with the goal at his mercy and a second successive epic 4-3 win looming.

The tie then moved on to penalties in front of the Leazes End; Gordon giving his side a positive start, only for Woltemade to hit the bar and Petrovic outwit Bruno Guimaraes, following another trademark stuttering run-up from the home captain.

Those home misses book-ended Ramsdale denying Evanilson and the recalled United custodian went on to save from Alex Jimenez and Bafode Diakite as the shootout extended to nine spot kicks apiece - Malick Thiaw smoothly netting what proved to be the winner.

Victory came at some cost to the Toon; a hamstrung Tino Livramento limping off early in the second half and unwanted extra pitch time for the likes of Botman ahead of Tuesday's Carabao Cup clash.

Even with the lack of options open to Eddie Howe, the appearance of Botman after his 45 minutes on Wednesday and ahead of Tuesday's Manchester City tie came as a surprise after an 11 game absence since November that was widely attributed to being over-played.

The Dutchman was one of five changes to the midweek line-up, including a selection of Yoane Wissa in the same team as Nick Woltemade for the first time. That altered approach stopped short of an orthodox 4-4-2 and also saw Livramento pushing into midfield as Tonali dropped far deeper.

Woltemade and Barnes combined for Wissa to test Petrovic early on, but United again seemed too fussy about finding the perfect shooting chance thereafter. That reluctance to pull the trigger was accompanied by a succession of risky passes infield, playing into the hands of a Bournemouth side who could have been forgiven for binning this competition off to concentrate on the league.

We'd also considered that exiting from the FA Cup at the first time of asking could be a blessing in disguise given the workload and diminishing workforce - even ignoring the prospect of extra time.

Rather than a Fourth Round tie against whoever in mid February, the prospect of a warm weather training camp in Saudi Arabia and associated team building must have been tempting to Howe & Co, who left some big guns on the bench but was bothered enough to use them when required.

That included Anthony Gordon, two decisive passes and two spot kick conversions a positive response to his new role as a super sub. That's a role reversal with Harvey Barnes, who could potentially rival his club colleague for an England place if his current run of form continues.

Gordon's first penalty took the tie to extra time and his second played a part in a shootout win that topped off a frankly absurd week of football at Gallowgate; scenes of great celebration on both Wednesday and Saturday despite only fleetingly holding the lead in nearly four hours of football.

Delight for Howe, but he will be acutely aware that such chaos is only glorious when it ends in victory.

His side were within the thickness of a boot here of registering successive 4-3 wins that would further amplify the understandable current focus of Keegan's entertainers-era side. It's worth recalling though that KK's time in Toon was a memorable failure in tangible (trophy) terms at least.

"We're gonna score one more than you" proved to be unsustainable; the belief that gung-ho was our DNA was mistaken. Our own optimism that Kenny Dalglish would add defensive steel to the attacking prowess was misplaced, as we ended up short-handed at both ends of the pitch.

Howe's hallmark here - and the essence of his success - is game management, but his side's inability to retain a lead extends beyond the personnel on the field. Resolving that particular conundrum leads to a collective drains-up amongst the fanbase encompassing tactics, selection, training, recruitment and countless other theories. At least the bloody gypsy curse no longer gets a mention....

Such navel-gazing mustn't overshadow the exhilaration of victory in the extraordinary circumstances twice experienced this week. That's why people travel ludicrous distances at outrageous hours and endure great personal sacrifice. This was our tenth cup tie so far this season, with at least five more locked in; every one an antidote to the sterile seasons when cups were a momentary distraction.

As one reader wrote, watching us should come with a health warning - not least for Howe, should we fail to tighten up our approach here on Tuesday against a Manchester City side whose 10-1 FA Cup defeat of Exeter City included nine different scorers, none of whom were Erling Haaland.

Whether we're planning a Wembley return by then or not though, today's efforts ensure that the Magpies will be in cup action on or around February 14th: the day that both Kevin Keegan and Nick Woltemade celebrate birthdays - plenty of scope there for some happy headlines, hopefully.  
 
Biffa