United's recent cup win finally lifts burden of past 70 years

IN the run-up to Newcastle United's recent Carabao Cup victory, one unpalatable but undeniable fact was repeated time after time across the media: the Magpies had not won a major domestic trophy for 70 years.

- DAVID MORTON

Thankfully, that burden of history was finally removed at Wembley in March as United turned in a wonderful performance to beat Liverpool 2-1 and lift the cup. But what of that last trophy win? This week, in fact, marks the 70th anniversary of Newcastle's last FA Cup triumph in the shadow of the national stadium's old twin towers.

It was Saturday, May 7, 1955. Ten years after the end of World War II, Britain finally found itself on the mend. The wheels of industry were turning, work was plentiful, the shops were increasingly well-stocked after years of rationing, and living standards for most were on the rise.

The '50s were to be the rock'n'roll decade and, on Tyneside, the feel good factor would be augmented by the incredible cup-fighting form of Newcastle United. The black and whites famously lifted the FA Cup three times in five years - 1951, 1952, and 1955.