Pompey going to Toon

The draw for the Third Round of the Carling Cup was made on Saturday afternoon, and having come through out tricky tie with Mansfield we've been handed another away tie, this time at St James' Park when we face Newcastle.

Newcastle, League Cup Finalists in 1976 will prove a very tough opponent, and although they have European commitments (although maybe they won't at the time of the contest itself, which with them being an English side in Europe I'd still hope they will) the Geordie crowd will be demanding Glen Roeder sends out a side that will give a performance.

Having rested an entire first choice XI, with the exception of Matty Taylor, the scorer of the second goal against Mansfield at Field Mill last Tuesday, Harry Redknapp will probably use the tie as a chance to give some fringe players a run out but hopefully he will take the tie seriously and we can win, as it would take us another step closer to winning our first piece of major domestic silverware (although some would argue the League Cup isn't a major tournament, although I'd disagree) since our League Title more than half a century ago.

Pompey's last visit to St James Park would be last season's 2-0 Premiership defeat in February 2006. Hopefully the tie, which will be played on the week commencing 23rd of October can see us return from the long journey having advanced into the fourth round, setting us up nicely before again making the trip to Tyneside a month later, at the end of November for the first Premiership meeting of the sides of the 2006/07 season.

Full Draw for the Carling Cup third round:

Wycombe v Doncaster
Sheffield United v Birmingham
Leicester v Aston Villa
Watford v Hull
Leeds v Southend
Chesterfield v West Ham
Notts County v Southampton
Newcastle v Portsmouth
Charlton v Bolton
Liverpool v Reading
West Brom v Arsenal
Port Vale v Norwich
Everton v Luton
MK Dons v Tottenham
Crewe v Manchester United
Blackburn v Chelsea

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