West Ham 0-1 Newcastle

&c

Newcastle secured a vital away win in the soulless bowl of the Olympic Stadium, beating a listless West Ham who reminded me of Newcastle sides of old going through the motions.

The tightness of the table meant that Newcastle went in to this Monday night game (thanks Sky) in ninth place and weren't able to take their foot off the gas ahead of Sunday's Wembley appearance.

Thankfully, West Ham were the perfect opponent, creating a couple of chances early doors then retreating into bland nothingness.

We weren't much better in a game that had just about nothing going for it as a spectacle but we were able to conjure up one moment of quality just after the hour mark.

Harvey Barnes, in an otherwise quiet audition for the left wing final berth, put in a sumptuous ball from the outside of the box that Bruno got his studs to to force it home.

There were appeals from West Ham for an Isak push on a defender that might have been given on another day but would have been soft.

The rest of the game played out almost entirely without incident despite us being sloppy on the ball, and the win took us up to sixth, level on points with Man City.

And now to the main event, the cup final that seems to have exhausted us long before we arrive at Wembley to face a relentless Liverpool side.

What was already a daunting task is now triply so given the lack of Botman, Gordon and especially Hall, with Tino Livramento looking like getting the unenviable task of stopping Salah on Sunday.

But for whichever 11 men step out on that Wembley pitch in the black and white stripes, immortality, against all the odds, awaits.

In a single game, anything can happen, however unlikely.

It'll take a Liverpool off day and for us to manufacture some momentum (last seen in these parts at the start of February in the semi final second leg against Arsenal) with which to launch out of the blocks.

Do that, and overcome all of the history and the baggage and the injuries and the suspension and the tired, thin squad, and this team will never be forgotten.

Howay the lads.