Five talking points as Toon book FA Cup fifth-round place at Fulham

Newcastle booked their place in the FA Cup fifth round with a morale-boosting 2-0 victory at Fulham.

Sean Longstaff and Dan Burn scored either side of half-time as the Magpies overcame a spirited display from the hosts at Craven Cottage.

Here are all the talking points from an entertaining cup clash in West London.

VAR in the spotlight

This clash between the two Premier League sides was one of the select few fourth-round ties to use VAR and — as it often does — dominated the first-half attention.

Longstaff put the Magpies in front against the run of play but the ball looked to have hit the hand of Bruno Guimaraes in the build-up.

Jarred Gillett's decision to give the goal was allowed to stand after a lengthy check due to the Brazilian's handball not being deliberate.

But given similar incidents have been given the other way this term, Fulham may have a case to feel hard done by.

Cup woes

Much like across two legs in the Carabao Cup semi-finals against Liverpool, Marco Silva can hardly be too disappointed with his side's performance in this cup clash.

But once again it was not enough and by the end of the game, the West Londoners looked to have run out of steam.

Though they have exited both cups in the last three days, the Cottagers will want to use the positives from their exploits to arrest their disappointing slump in the league.

Missing Mitro

Fulham were not short of chances but lacked a cutting edge to make their opportunities count, with Raul Jimenez not enjoying his best game in front of goal.

Barring a goal-filled spell in December, it has been an issue that has plagued the Whites ever since Aleksandar Mitrovic's departure for the Saudi Pro League last summer.

With no Fulham player scoring more than five this term, manager Silva may be tempted to bring in a new striker before the January transfer deadline in just a few days' time.

Mood lifter

Newcastle fans were in good voice during their visit to the capital as they witnessed a rare victory.

The Toon have endured a testing period, losing six of their last seven Premier League games, struggling with injuries and seeing a number of key players linked away from the club.

But they have had no such issues in the FA Cup, with this win coming off the back of a dominant Tyne-Wear derby victory in round three which means they are now just a game away from the quarter-finals.

After a disappointing last two months, a deep cup run could yet ensure Eddie Howe is able deliver another memorable season on Tyneside.

Dan the man

It was a pleasing night for Toon defender Burn, who scored against his former club to seal the victory.

Sven Botman's header from a corner delivery was saved by goalkeeper Marek Rodak before Burn took advantage of some slack defending to tap in from point-blank range.

The 31-year-old told ITV: "It has been such a long time since the club has won something, we've made a big thing over the last two seasons about that.

"We have four games to either get to the final or win it, so let's see who we get in the next round."