A day at Wembley to see Newcastle United lift the Carabao Cup
- Sports Travel Tom
- Mar 21
- 6 min read
The story of a trip to London for the Carabao Cup final. From The Mad Dog, Covent Garden, Wembley and £15 cheeseburgers.
Sunday February 16th, 2025: London
"I've never felt Wembley shake", said Gary Neville when Newcastle United scored their first goal at Wembley for 26 years to secure a half-time lead in the Carabao Cup final.
It was no understatement, not only was Wembley shaking, so were thousands of Geordie hearts.
My whole life I have been a Newcastle United supporter. Born in Whitley Bay and wherever I am Newcastle United isn't far from my thoughts. I've built a career in sports broadcasting and storytelling, more specifically sports travel, and so to be able to combine the two and attend Wembley, the home of football and to see my team attempt to lift a first trophy in 56 years was a special experience and what a day, sorry, weekend, it was.
Newcastle United fans take over London for the Carabao Cup final weekend
The party began on Saturday. The Kings Cross pub named The Dolphin and home to London's Newcastle United fan group had renamed itself The Mad Dog and Mags - a fitting tribute to assistant coach, Jason Tindall. The pub itself is ideally located next to Kings Cross train station, the main terminus for trains arriving from the North East.
I had flown to London the day before but I made my way to Kings Cross on Saturday morning to witness the arrival of Newcastle fans into the Capital. I wanted to soak up the atmosphere, film some content and enjoy the excitement. With every train that arrived a sea of black & white stripes descended onto the platforms. Songs such as "Eddie Howe's Black & White Army" and "We Are The Geordies" echoed around the vast terminal building, getting louder and louder as fans neared the exits.
Once at those exits, it was into the London sunshine and a hop, skip and jump to The Mad Dog and Mags. The party had begun. The pub was full, the street outside was full, hearts were full and the anticipation was palpable.
Onto Covent Garden, a place known for its street performers and entertainment.
Today, it was less of the jugglers and magicians and more of a unified sing-a-long for the best part of 10 hours. Given the number of people it was remarkable how quickly it was to get a drink at the bar, a trip to the toilets was less speedy. It didn't matter though, whatever situation you were in, whoever you were stood with, there was only one conversation to be had. "How do you think tomorrow will go?" There was optimism, there was nervousness, there was confidence, there was scepticism. However you felt though, there was a joy, here we are again in London as spring tries to break through, hoping Newcastle United had a spring in their step tomorrow.
The sight from the Punch & Judy, the famous bar with its balcony overlooking Covent Garden was glorious. A sea of Geordies. Chatting and singing. Once there, you deserved a drink given the manoeuvring and squeezing it took to find a way through the crowds between Covent Garden's tube station and its bustling centre.
Saturday wasn't to be a wild night though, tomorrow is a big day. Tomorrow our energy is needed. So just a couple to round off the day in The Marquis, a magnificent pub in between Covent Garden and Leicester Square before embarking on what could be my final night's sleep supporting a team I have never seen lift a major trophy. It felt like Christmas Eve.
Carabao Cup Final day, can Newcastle United end their quest for a major trophy?
Here we go then.
I was staying with friends in the east of London, so Farringdon was my first stop. Already black & white shirts on the tube and in the pubs. The Wetherspoons at Farringdon is serving up a hearty breakfast. The sun may be out, but blimey the breeze is making it chilly. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one to opt for the jumper under Newcastle top arrangement of clothes.
Breakfast done, it was wise to get some food in now (later I was tempted by a cheeseburger at Wembley only to discover it was priced at £15... not a chance am I paying £15 for a cheeseburger from a food hut) and its time to jump on the Metropolitan Line straight to Wembley. It was early afternoon so a good few hours before the 16:30 kick-off time but it's not everyday you're at Wembley, well, not far off, pretty much every other year if you're a Newcastle fan.
On arrival, I was surprised at how calm it all was. Fans had gathered, not on mass just yet, but plenty to muster up an atmosphere, but this year was different. Very different to two years ago. This was less party time, that was yesterday, today is business like, we have a job to do today.
Into the Newcastle United fan park... music, quick moving queues and a date with destiny ahead of us. Wembley overlooked us in all its might.
Now, reality sets in. It's time to go into the stadium... It was like being back at school. Jokes and light-hearted conversations outside the exam hall then its time to go in, and the nerves set in.
'Hello Wembley' greets us on the walls as we enter and we quickly discover the escalators aren't working. Perhaps the national stadium's way of reminding us what it is like for away fans at St James' Park with one long old climb - in that strange walk you do on an escalator that isn't working - to the upper tier. Breathless, yes, but certainly not deterred.
Into the seats... not one person sitting down. What a sight Wembley is, especially when looking left to see 30,000 + Newcastle fans holding up or swirling their scarfs around. Wow. Well done Sela. With many wearing coats in the chilly air, the scarfs were a perfect way to make sure everyone was in black & white, it was a phenomenal sight.
The National Anthem plays. Shearer, Ant and Dec on the big screens, an all-inspiring history books display from Wor Flags, Newcastle fans drowning out any support from Liverpool fans... victory could be sensed. Kick off has arrived.
Nope, no one is sitting down. We're here to work. Flags swirling, cheers, shouts of "get into them", euphoria at every challenge, we're not going to let this one slip. 44 minutes in and we are on top. A goal before half-time would be nice.
Dan Burn! The man from Blyth, who had thought his chance of playing for Newcastle United had gone forever when the takeover happened. Here he was, fresh from an England call up, now scoring in a Cup final for Newcastle, his team. A thumping header. Wembley erupts, Liverpool shaken. We're one-nil up at the break.
Back inside on the concourses conversations are of, "Liverpool are going to come at us now, they'll step it up... this is going to be a hard 45 minutes."
It really wasn't. At no point, apart form the last few minutes, did I feel uncomfortable. The excitement carried on throughout the whole game, spurred on by Newcastle's dominant performance.
Then Isak! Oh my word, we're two-nil up in a Cup final, against Liverpool. I don't remember much of the goal. Once it goes in, the celebrations take over. It's all a blur. Limbs everywhere. We're in control. We're going to be able to say 'we were there'. We are here, and it's emotional.
Liverpool have pulled one back, but that's it. After an eternity of stoppage time. We have won.
This is what it feels like. I look around, everyone is in tears. Everyone is crying. Nobody can quite believe it. Newcastle United have won a domestic Cup for the first time in 70 years. And we were there. Blimey, the euphoria I feel, you just can't hold back the tears. Watching the players and staff on the pitch celebrate, watching the big screen to see Shearer, Ant and Dec celebrate, hugs with strangers. No, not strangers, family.
Sam Fender is playing - if you weren't crying, you are now. What a sound that is as Sam Fender plays out around Wembley and all of us plus the players join in. This is too much.
I might just treat myself to a £15 cheeseburger.
Comments