Joe Willock Sends Newcastle Past Millwall in Carabao Cup

Joe Willock scored a late winner as Newcastle United beat Millwall 1-0 at The Den on Tuesday to advance from the Carabao Cup third round. The midfielder finished Newcastle’s clearest move of the night after the visitors had controlled possession without turning that advantage into goals for most of the contest.

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The Guardian reported that Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle selected a strong side, with Jacob Ramsey starting on the right in place of Anthony Elanga. Newcastle had the first notable chance when Willock won the ball from Romain Esse and drove a shot at goalkeeper Filip Marschall, who made the save.

Millwall responded through their set-piece threat. Caleb Taylor headed narrowly wide from a free-kick after 36 minutes, and the home side built pressure before halftime. Tino Livramento replaced Amar Dedic for Newcastle at the interval, but Millwall began the second half sharply and Jenson Metcalfe fired over following a scramble near the visitors’ goal.

Newcastle continued to hold most of the ball and had recorded 17 attempts with about 70 percent possession by the hour, according to the match report. Their lack of a breakthrough left the tie open, and Jaissle introduced Elanga as the Premier League side looked for greater cutting edge against an injury-hit Millwall squad.

The hosts then came within inches of taking the lead. Taïryk Arconte struck the post in the 79th minute, with the rebound hitting Newcastle goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek before staying out. Newcastle capitalized moments later when Matias Fernandez-Pardo released Lewis Hall, whose cross reached Willock in the middle for a controlled side-foot finish across goal.

Millwall pressed after falling behind but could not force an equalizer, leaving Newcastle with the victory and a clean sheet. Jaissle said his team deserved the result, while the performance also showed that his developing system remains a work in progress. For Millwall, the defeat followed a committed display produced despite the extensive injury list described in The Guardian’s report.