'Are you renaming your pet? The kids?' Newcastle wakes to new dawn after 70 years of hurt

After years of hurt, it was just glorious," said 67-year-old Paul Wearmouth outside St James' Park on the morning after the night before. "It was tremendous. I'll be honest, I was crying. They were tears of jubilation."

- Mark Brown

Wearmouth, a retired school caretaker, has been a fan of Newcastle United all his life and can tell you at length about how difficult a commitment that can be. Pedants can say that it has been 56 years since Newcastle won a major trophy. But that was the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup against Újpesti Dózsa of Hungary. The last major trophy, in the eyes of Newcastle fans, was the 1955 FA Cup win against Manchester City. Which means Sunday's Carabao Cup victory over Liverpool at Wembley ended 70 long – excruciatingly long – years of hurt.

"We will remember this day," said Wearmouth, who was thinking of departed relatives when he was watching at home, in his bungalow in Bedlington, Northumberland. "When any of these players come back, they will get a hero's welcome. We recognise history. We don't forget. I'm so proud. All the players were up for it; they had fire in their bellies."