Scrubs up for the cup! (A match thread)

Think anderson was struggling a bit with a knock so they changed the plans.

All the debutants looked decent, particularly the right wing back. Anderson can play. Ominbadadeleadebola tried to overplay a couple of times.

Shame we lost, but glass half full - the recruitment looks good.

First shootout we've lost in 18 years. Won the last 10.

Nuno out then!

Quite frankly it’s the comedy cup, yes a run would be nice as it would have allowed everyone one in the squad a run out on a regular basis, but meh! I can’t get upset that we’re out, particularly when you consider the importance of some of the more recent penalty shoot outs.

In old money we call that doing a Darcheville.

Taiwo did want to score but he got halfway through his run up and realised he'd forgotten to put his lottery on earlier so stopped looking at the ball/goal and began the important & detailed process of deciding which scratch card he was going to buy instead with the spare cash, the Monopoly themed ones are his fave.

Newcastle away at Wimbledon in the next round, if anyone's interested.

I think Anderson getting a knock probably cost us that shootout. I think him and Wood would have taken penalties ahead of Sangare and probably scored. I also can’t believe that a rational choice of our best penalty takers on the pitch at the end would have included Taiwo - I just think you have to let your centre forward take one. Turns out, I may have some unconscious racism in my views on penalty shoot outs (although CHO, with Moreno and Dominguez, was in my top three).

I really enjoyed the game last night. Thought we played with passion and no little skill, with special mentions for Moreira, Jota, Sosa and Anderson. The crowd found its voice the longer the game went on and the atmosphere was decent, considering there were so many non regulars there.

Moreira is an interesting one. I imagine he was brought in to then send out on loan or play with the under 23s, but he made a case for being in the squad last night if not the team. Not 100% sure about him defensively, but I can see him being a more than useful alternative to Elanga, especially against teams that are strong down their left.

Yep I was surprised Moreno didn’t have one.

As for Carlos, who was written off 20 seconds into his debut, I thought he did pretty well.

And I’ve just read in the Athletic that his parents were murdered when he was 7 whilst he hid in the back of the house with his brothers.

Also really enjoyed last night. Atmosphere was decent some good play and didn't have the "pressure" of a league game.

For what it's worth, I thought Abbott struggled throughout, barring maybe 2 nice tackles/interceptions, but wasn't helped by playing on the left of the three, presumably because they wanted Boly near Moreira and Moreno near him. Three central defenders without a left-footer doesn't really work.

I enjoyed the game, we may have gone out but we did so in an entertaining and front foot way, which was good to see. I do think the League Cup is important, it's a route to Wembley that is more open to those clubs not in the very top echelons of the game and we should seek glory where we can, but we aren't at the stage in our development as a club where we need to worry too much that we've gone out early.

The positives were the energy of the team and the trouble they caused by seeking to take the initiative, will be interesting to see whether we take that approach into more Premier League games, and the improved depth that we appear to have in the squad. We look to have more players in the "second string" who could step smoothly into the starting line up. That said, even though we dominated for a good hour in the middle of the game, they seemed to cause our 'keeper to make many more saves in their two 15 minute spells either side. Their attacking play seemed more composed and smooth, whereas ours was more frantic and hopeful, albeit exciting to watch.

Progress is definitely being made and it all feels a little calmer and more assured than previous seasons, for now.

In the parlance of the day, that Newcastle team had an absolute shirtload more experience than ours, so it's hardly surprising they were more efficient.
I've only seen highlights but they've suggested, along with reports, an awful lot of positives.
And I'm particularly excited by San Miguel. Love a gamble.

The good position we are in now is that the five most likely subs in any game are the full backs, the wingers and the centre forward and with Aina/Williams/Moreno/Moreira; CHO/Elanga/Jota/Sosa; and Awoniyi/Wood, we're in a pretty good place in those positions, with AN Other up front adding to the depth.

What is the first choice midfield pairing behind MGW? Sangare (6) and Anderson (8)? Also, I guess one of Anderson/Jota (Sosa?) can be a back up to MGW?

I’m having a downer on Taiwo even though I love the guy. In addition to the WPES* he had two or three decent chances and looked unconvincing. There was no way he was scoring that penalty. So I’m hoping for a new arrival up front (or for him to get back to his previous form)

The other thing is CB: after the first five minutes, I thought Boly and Omi did pretty well (kept Isak pretty quiet) so are good back ups to Murillo and Milenkovic.

*Worst Penalty Ever Seen