Tottenham vs. Newcastle: Score, Grades, Reaction from Capital One Cup

Tottenham cruised into the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup at the expense of Newcastle United on Wednesday, as they won 4-0 in a one-sided contest at White Hart Lane.

Nabil Bentaleb profited from a handling error from inexperienced goalkeeper Jak Alnwick to open the scoring midway through the first half, before strikes from Nacer Chadli and Harry Kane in the 20 minutes following the interval effectively decided matters.

Roberto Soldado, to the delight of the home support, then profited from another Alnwick mistake to round off the scoring, as Newcastle's hopes of ending their famous trophy drought in this competition crashed and burned.

Despite being just two wins away from Wembley—and with a 33 percent chance, at the start of the game at least, of that second opponent being League One side Sheffield United—both sides rotated their starting lineups, showing that for the managers keeping key players fresh remained as important as pursuing success in this competition.

The game started in slightly disjointed fashion, with Moussa Sissoko looking bright but chances at a premium. The Frenchman had a couple of attempts from distance well saved by Michel Vorm, while at the other end both Benjamin Stambouli and Chadli threatened Alnwick.

Before the game had found a steady rhythm, Tottenham were ahead. It was a moment Alnwick will want to forget, as the goalkeeper—whose brother, Ben, made one appearance in five years at Spurs—dropped a tame corner into the box, allowing the lingering Bentaleb to turn the rebound into the unguarded net.

Emmanuel Riviere almost immediately had the chance to make amends for Alnwick's mistake, but despite being left unmarked inside the box, he managed to head wide from barely six yards.

Beyond brief moments of skill from Remy Cabella and Ayoze Perez, most of Newcastle's threat came from the lively Sissoko, but Spurs continued to look the most likely to score. After latching on to a careless pass from Yoan Gouffran, Harry Kane drove a low shot narrowly wide of Alnwick's far post, before moments later the Englishman thought he had won a penalty after Fabricio Coloccini seemed to tangle with him inside the box. The referee waved away the appeals, however, much to Mauricio Pochettino's anger.

Newcastle had one final chance to equalise before the break, as Gouffran failed to keep a first-time shot on target, but they went into the break behind—just as they had in the league meeting between these two sides earlier in the season.

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

On that occasion, the Magpies scored after barely 10 seconds of the second half, sparking a come-from-behind 2-1 win. This time around it was Spurs who would catch their opponents cold, as they needed just 34 seconds to double their advantage.

Chadli was the scorer, the Belgian cutting in from the left and fending off the attentions of two defenders before putting a low shot beyond Alnwick's reach.

That made Newcastle's task look insurmountable, although they would have grabbed a goal back nine minutes later if Cabella and Gouffran had not got in each other's way, failing to convert from just yards out after Perez had threaded a low pass between Vorm and his defence.

Spurs were still the dominant force, however, with Vlad Chiriches testing Alnwick's reflexes from distance and Massadio Haidara forced to clear Jan Vertonghen's looping header off the line.

Soon enough, the clincher came. Pochettino put on Mousa Dembele, and the midfielder made an immediate impact, taking the ball down the left and feeding it in to Andros Townsend on the edge of the box. The winger's touch was heavy, but it fell perfectly for Kane, who ran beyond his man and beat Alnwick with ease.

It was becoming a theme. Less than 10 minutes passed until the home side added a fourth, with Alnwick again involved in a way he would not have liked. Christian Eriksen's shot from the edge of the box seemed relatively tame, but the goalkeeper could only push it into the path of Soldado. The striker had barely been on three minutes, but he could afford a poor first touch and still side-foot into the open net.

Soldado nearly had another soon after, following a slick passing move involving Bentaleb and Danny Rose, but this time Alnwick smothered the shot.

The closing stages saw a raft of substitutions, and as a consequence, with the result already decided, much of the life drifted out of the action on the pitch. There were no goals before the conclusion, with the Magpies denied even a consolation goal for their travelling supporters—who were a credit with the noise they made throughout.

It is Spurs who progressed, however. They are now just two games away from Wembley, but bigger challenges may well await.

Jamie McDonald/Getty Images

Player Ratings

Player	Rating
Michel Vorm	7
Danny Rose	6
Jan Vertonghen	7
Federico Fazio	7
Vlad Chiriches	7
Nabil Bentaleb	7
Benjamin Stambouli	6
Christian Eriksen	7
Andros Townsend	6
Nacer Chadli	7
Harry Kane	7
Substitutions
Mousa Dembele	7
Roberto Soldado	7
Etienne Capoue	6

Player	Rating
Jak Alnwick	4
Paul Dummett	6
Mike Williamson	6
Fabricio Coloccini	6
Massadio Haidara	7
Jack Colback	7
Moussa Sissoko	7
Remy Cabella	6
Ayoze Perez	6
Yoan Gouffran	6
Emmanuel Riviere	5
Substitutions
Adam Armstrong	7
Vurnon Anita	6
Haris Vuckic	6

What's Next?

Tottenham return to Premier League action on Saturday as they face Burnley, again at White Hart Lane. Newcastle are also at home this weekend, with Alan Pardew's side facing the small matter of the north-east derby against Sunderland on Sunday afternoon.

Spurs were drawn with Sheffield United in the semi-finals and will fancy their chances of advancing to the final. The first leg, at White Hart Lane, is scheduled for 20/21 January, with the return leg to follow a week later.

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