sport news Newcastle hero Sean Longstaff received shooting advice from Alan Shearer trends now
When you are going through a dry spell, who better to turn to for advice than the greatest goalscorer of them all?
Before Tuesday night, Sean Longstaff had scored just twice in his last 80 Newcastle appearances – and not at all at St James' Park in almost four years.
The midfielder had been particularly guilty of glaring misses in his side's three previous home matches against Leeds, Leicester and Fulham.
There was a similarity between the way Sean Longstaff (left) celebrated his goals during Newcastle's Carabao Cup win over Southampton and how Alan Shearer (right) used to
The midfielder's quick-fire double at St James' Park booked Newcastle's Wembley date
So, before the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg, Longstaff did what any goal-shy footballer would love to be able to do – reach out to Alan Shearer.
The 25-year-old has got to know Newcastle's all-time leading scorer over the years through his uncle Alan Thompson, the ex-England and Celtic player, and they also play at the same golf club.
Well, whatever words of wisdom Longstaff received from Shearer this week, they worked a treat, as he ended his St James' drought in spectacular style with a brace inside the first 21 minutes against Southampton.
He even celebrated his second goal with a Shearer-esque one-arm salute, although he denied it was a deliberate tribute to the Toon icon.
Shearer tweeted to Longstaff after his goals after the pair had spoken about the art of scoring
The midfielder gave the hosts the perfect start with a fine strike in the fifth minute on Tuesday
'Alan is someone I've looked up to since I was a young lad and one of the best bits about him is he's always a phone call or a text away,' explained Longstaff.
'With things like the finishing, I spoke to him a little bit and tried to get a few tips from him. There is no one better to get tips from and for him to be available to me is really special. It's still really surreal.'
What, then, did Shearer say to yield such instant results? 'It's probably a lot more simple than what people would think,' said Longstaff.
'The main thing is trying to hit the target. You sometimes think you have to reinvent the wheel and put it exactly in the top corner or a certain spot, but nine times out of 10 you don't have to do that.'
Longstaff managed hit the target all right on Tuesday, with his early goals sealing Newcastle their place in a first Wembley final since 1999.
Longstaff doubled Newcastle's advantage in 21st minute with a clinical finish and the Toon went on to prevail 3-1 on aggregate to reach the final at Wembley
Shearer was in the side that lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup final 24 years ago and he was cheering from his box at St James' against Southampton.
'Keep getting in there, it will happen. You f****** beauty,' Shearer tweeted after Longstaff's brace.
To many around the club, Longstaff's lack of goals has been a mystery.
