AFTER 24 years of waiting, Newcastle United are back at Wembley. Middlesbrough and Sunderland have both staged capital takeovers in the last two decades; at the end of next month, London will finally be painted black-and-white.

On a historic night that saw the Magpies reach their first major final since 1999, Sean Longstaff was the homegrown hero as his two first-half strikes proved sufficient to see off Southampton.

Che Adams’ driven finish shortly before the interval ensured Newcastle’s players had to remain on their mettle in the second half, but as a sold-out St James’ Park entered full-blown party mode, the home side saw things out to secure a 3-1 aggregate victory.

Eddie Howe will argue that his team has not achieved anything yet, and in terms of negotiating next month’s final and attempting to lift a piece of major silverware for the first time in more than half-a-century, he is right.

Yet for a club that freely admitted to ‘not taking the cups seriously’ during the Mike Ashley era, merely reaching a final again is a major achievement. No matter what Newcastle go on to achieve under their Saudi Arabia-backed ownership group, last night’s celebrations will be cherished for generations.

The noise levels and sense of expectation at kick-off were in keeping with the magnitude of the occasion, with St James’ Park beside itself with excitement and energy. Five minutes in, and the roof of Newcastle’s ‘cathedral on the hill’ was just about lifted off.

Longstaff began and finished the move that resulted in the Magpies’ opener, picking up the ball from Bruno Guimaraes and laying it off to Kieran Trippier before continuing his run into the box. Trippier laid the ball back into his path, and with a composure that belied the importance of the strike, Longstaff rolled a slick finish past Gavin Bazunu.

Blyth’s Dan Burn scored the winner in Newcastle’s quarter-final victory over Leicester; one round on, and it was North Shields-born Longstaff opening the scoring to double his side’s lead in the semi-final. For all the talk of potential future European domination, this is a Newcastle side that continues to beat with a Geordie heart.

Longstaff almost claimed a second when he fired wide three minutes after opening the scoring, but the boyhood Newcastle fan did not have to wait long for the best night of his life to get even better. Prior to last night’s game, the midfielder had scored two goals in his previous 80 matches; in Newcastle’s biggest game for decades, he netted twice in the space of 16 minutes.

Joe Willock started the move that led to the Magpies’ second goal, cutting in from the left to feed Miguel Almiron. The Paraguayan squared the ball across goal, and without breaking stride, Longstaff slotted home a first-time finish from the heart of the 18-yard box.

With their side boasting a three-goal aggregate lead, the home supporters were in full-on ‘We’re going to Wembley’ mode, but Southampton gave themselves a glimmer of hope as they scored with their first meaningful shot on target on the half-hour mark.

Willock sloppily gave the ball away inside his own half, and Adams drilled a 20-yard strike across Nick Pope and into the bottom left-hand corner. Finally, after more than ten matches, Newcastle’s goalkeeper had been beaten.

Adams’ strike kept the tie alive, and meant Newcastle had to remain disciplined throughout the second half. Thankfully, defensive resilience has been one of the Magpies’ biggest assets all season, and while Southampton’s players pushed and probed in the second period, the home side’s backline stood firm.

The only real scare came with 18 minutes left, but while Adam Armstrong beat the offside trap to reach Romeo Lavia’s through ball, Pope was alert to the danger and raced from his line to stop the Geordie striker’s clipped shot with his legs.

That looked like being that, but there was a sting in the tail for the Magpies when Bruno Guimaraes was sent off with ten minutes remaining for a mistimed challenge on Sam Edozie. Guimaraes will have to serve a three-match ban, but will be available to play in the final.