rochdale 1 Wilbraham (79) newcastle united 1 Almiron (17)
Steve Bruce admitted his side were made to pay for missed chances after being forced to settle for a draw at League One Rochdale.
The Magpies dominated the first half and Miguel Almiron’s opener looked set to steer them into the next stage with the minimum of fuss before 40-yearold Aaron Wilbraham’s 79th-minute equaliser capped a stirring comeback.
Instead of toasting a place in round four, Bruce must now prepare his increasingly depleted squad for a replay, with Almiron and Yoshinori Muto now added to the list of injury doubts.
Bruce said: “Our frailties are pretty obvious – we don’t score enough goals – and with the chances we’ve created we’ve got to be taking them and the tie should have been put to bed.
“We were excellent in the first half, but the losses of Muto and Almiron gave us another thing to think about.
“But we’re in the hat and we’ve got a replay, and some might need a game after coming back from injury.”
Newcastle’s inability up front was underlined by another lowconfidence display from Joelinton, but Bruce insisted he retains belief in the Brazilian despite looking for reinforcements.
“Joelinton has had a difficult time, but he’s got to stick at it,” added Bruce. “Until two weeks ago Almiron hadn’t scored, but now he’s scored two in fairly quick succession.”
Rochdale boss Brian Barry-Murphy revealed Wilbraham had overcome personal heartbreak to add another chapter to his storied career with his well-taken leveller.
Barry-Murphy said: “Aaron’s mum passed away recently so he’s been playing with that memory for the last couple of weeks.
“He’s an amazing
35 3 2 11 1
0
guy and he had a huge impact on the second half – the same impact he has on the group all the time.”
Barry-Murphy paid tribute to the way in which his side shrugged off a difficult first period, and admitted a touch of disappointment they did not finish the job after Oliver Rathbone missed a late chance.
He added: “It’s a huge result for everybody associated with the town and the way we finished the game was very good.
“I thought we’d win it because once we get on a roll we can be very dangerous.”