Lewis Hall says Newcastle wanted to “make a statement” at Manchester United but admits the comprehensive Carabao Cup victory at Old Trafford surpassed expectations.
Wednesday’s fourth-round tie was a repeat of February’s final and Eddie Howe’s men exacted some revenge with a famous first win at Old Trafford in a decade.
Miguel Almiron and Joe Willock goals either side of teenage left-back Hall’s volley completed a 3-0 victory that secured progress and a quarter-final trip to Chelsea next month.
Put to the summer signing that he could not have expected the trip to Old Trafford to turn out like that, the 19-year-old said: “No, definitely not.
“I think when we had the meetings (Wednesday) morning and afternoon we obviously set out the way we wanted to play.
“Obviously it’s a big ground and United is a big club, so we wanted to come here and make a statement on the team and show what we’re about and how we can do well in this competition and hopefully go forward and win.”
It was a particularly special night for boyhood Newcastle fan Hall, who scored his first ever senior goal with a smart volley from just inside the box.
“It was amazing,” the full-back said. “As soon as I hit it I was in line with it, so I knew it had a chance and stuff.
Lewis Hall scoring for his boyhood club!
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC)
“Honestly, I was over the moon. It is a bit difficult to describe, really, but I think you can see from my celebration how happy I was.
“It’s an amazing day for us all. I thought we put in a really, really good performance – everyone who played, all the subs that came on, which is kind of our season, really.
“We have a load of games so everyone’s involved and everyone’s always ready to play.”
Hall’s Newcastle-supporting dad was among the 7,000-plus away supporters at Old Trafford, where the teenager made a memorable second start since joining on an initial season-long loan from Chelsea.
