Newcastle United 1-0 AFC Wimbledon: Fabian Schar's Penalty Clinches Smooth Progress In EFL Cup

Tuesday's tie was rearranged and moved to St James' Park following flooding damage at the Dons' home ground last week.

And despite relying on a spot-kick from Schar in first-half stoppage time to get over the line, Newcastle never looked in danger of offering the lower-league visitors a sniff of an upset.

Miguel Almiron won the penalty after he was fouled by Joe Pigott, though referee Darren Bond needed a lengthy consultation with his assistant before he pointed to the spot.

Almiron, Sean Longstaff and Harvey Barnes could have added to Newcastle's lead, though Eddie Howe's team were not made to pay for their profligacy, with the Dons not managing to get a shot on target.

Newcastle will host Chelsea in the fourth round later in October.

Data Debrief: A gulf in class

It was as comfortable as it can get for Newcastle, who had 18 shots and finished with 2.05 expected goals (xG) to Wimbledon's 0.07.

Since losing 1-0 to Sheffield Wednesday in 2015-16, Newcastle have now progressed from their last five ties in the EFL Cup third round without conceding a single goal, although they needed a penalty shoot-out in 2022-23 after a 0-0 stalemate with Crystal Palace.