Newcastle United 3 Luton 1: Ayoze Perez and Jonjo Shelvey send Rafael Benitez's side's through to FA Cup fourth round

Ayoze Perez - Newcastle United 3 Luton 1: Ayoze Perez and Jonjo Shelvey send Rafael Benitez's side's through to FA Cup fourth round
Ayoze Perez celebrates the first of his two goals at St James' Park on Saturday Credit:  PA

For most Premier League clubs this would just be a routine Cup win over lower league opposition, but there have been precious few of those for Newcastle United and Luton Town did enough to make this more uncomfortable than the scoreline looks. 

To put it into context, Newcastle have been knocked out of the FA Cup by lower league opposition in five out of the last six years and this will be only the fifth time since Mike Ashley took control of the club, 11 years ago, that they have made it to the fourth round. 

Luton, top of League Two, cheered on by 7,500 supporters, were precisely the sort of opposition who have humbled Newcastle in recent years. On this occasion, though, Newcastle, who played virtually a full-strength side, were 3-0 up by half-time and although Luton impressed in the second period, they were chasing a lost cause. 

Even so, it is easy to see why they have won so many admirers under their young manager Nathan Jones and had Elliot Lee’s second-half free-kick been a few millimetres lower, or an offside decision gone their way, they would have made this a fidgety afternoon for their hosts. 

“I was a very disappointed with a nine or 10-minute spell in the first half,” said Jones. “But apart from that, I’m really proud. We had our moments, we didn’t come here to park the bus, we had a real go and we might have scored a few more. 

“We should have had a second goal, which was incorrectly ruled out for offside, that would have made it really interesting.” 

Jonjo Shelvey - Newcastle United 3 Luton 1: Ayoze Perez and Jonjo Shelvey send Rafael Benitez's side's through to FA Cup fourth round
Jonjo Shelvey reels away in celebration after scoring Newcastle's third of the afternoon Credit: REUTERS

Newcastle have become so used to playing without the ball in the Premier  League, they took a while to get going as the team expected to dictate the pace of the game, but once they scored, the floodgates opened. Ayoze Perez bundled in two close-range efforts, after Dwight Gayle had been denied by goalkeeper Marek Stech, but the third was an excellent team effort. Perez sent the defence into retreat, before feeding Gayle, who unselfishly teed up Jonjo Shelvey. 

The game appeared to be over, but Luton pulled a goal back early in the  second half through Danny Hylton and Newcastle were rattled. Newcastle’s goalkeeper, Freddie Woodman, making his debut, looked shaky with his kicks and another loose one was punished. The ball was returned immediately to the unmarked Hylton, who rounded the Under-20 World Cup winner and finished calmly. Hylton thought he had scored a second, but as he celebrated on his own, the rest of Luton’s players had spotted the offside flag that ruled it out. 

Newcastle were dragged into a tussle, and there was almost a dream moment for substitute Elliot Lee, who grew up watching his father, Rob, play for Newcastle, but his free-kick smacked against the crossbar. 

“We were a little too relaxed in the second half, but in the end we have gone through,” said manager Rafael Benitez.

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