Newcastle United made sure of a trip to Wembley on Tuesday night, as the Magpies made their goal advantage from the first leg count in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.

Sean Longstaff scored a first-half brace for the home side, and despite Che Adams' first-half response, Newcastle would see out the victory to make it to the final of the Carabao Cup, with a 3-1 aggregate win. 

The win means Newcastle will face either Manchester United or Nottingham Forest in the final, in a competition that the Magpies have never won. 

  • "We gave ourselves a mountain to climb"

Southampton boss Nathan Jones to the press after his sides' elimination from the competition. 

 

Jones was pleased with Southampton's response to going a goal down at St James' Park but stated that his side simply had too much to do.

"We were really positive second half but we have just given ourselves too much to do and you can't do that here, they are a good side, they have got one of the meanest defences in the league if not the meanest. 

"But we've tested them and that is positive today. Congratulations to Newcastle, but we gave ourselves far too much to do."

Longstaff scored his first goal in the fifth minute of the game, to give Southampton more to do to have any chance of progression. 

"We have to stay in the game for those first 15 minutes, we'd like to get the goal but if you don't get the goal then don't concede. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb, it's naive defending and that's the frustrating thing. It's a semi-final and I thought we were poor really to give those goals away.

"The response was magnificent in the second half, we were excellent. It shows there is a team in there but we have to start proving that.

"They are disappointed, they're devastated, they would like to have achieved something but you have to do the basics right and if you don't do that then you get punished at this level.

"It's two really poor pieces of defending and we have to do better." 

Che Adams scored Southampton's only goal of the semi-final, in the 29th minute of the game. However, it would only be a consolation for the Saints.

 

Adams spoke to Southampton's website after the game, emphasising the Saints' disappointment at exiting the competition. 

"We are deflated, we had a chance coming here but we let the game go too early on. Two cheap goals that we have conceded. 

"We started the second half much better and we started playing football a lot more and we have to build on that. 

"It was a massive mountain to climb so we didn't put ourselves in the best frame of mind early on. 

"We keep going now and build off of the second half."

Southampton face Brentford next in the Premier League on February 4, with a 15:00 GMT kick off at the Brentford Community Stadium.