“It’s just fantastic to see so many Geordies here!”: Newcastle United supporters take over Covent Garden ahead of the Carabao Cup Final

Local TV Sport

Newcastle United supporters took over Covent Garden in London on Saturday evening, ahead of the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley. Daniel Wales reports.

Transcript

00:00So, we're here in Covent Garden in central London where Newcastle United supporters have

00:09taken over the capital. It's a sea of black and white behind me, there's pyrotechnics,

00:14there's a lot of fun being had, of course ahead of the Calgary World Cup final at Wembley

00:19on Sunday against Liverpool. But for now though, that's out of their heads, all they want to

00:23do is have a good time and support their team.

00:27The day had started back in Newcastle, where thousands of Geordies were getting ready to

00:32begin their journeys south to London. Flags were draped on the banks of the Tyne to give

00:40them all the best send-off possible. Those arriving at Central Station in the city centre

00:48knew that rail works on the east coast main line meant that replacement coaches would

00:52be used to get as far as York, before trains would then take them the rest of the way to

00:57the capital. A steady stream of travellers were beginning to arrive.

01:10On the trains, the atmosphere was full of anticipation, not necessarily about the match

01:15itself at this point, but instead about joining the black and white party in Covent Garden.

01:21The arrival of the trains into Kings Cross Station saw the volume increase, as all of

01:26the Newcastle supporters made their way off the platforms and outside into the London

01:30fresh air, before they all began to disperse onto the Tube network, with Covent Garden

01:36being the next destination.

01:42By mid-afternoon it was already chaotic, but all were in good spirits and enjoying the

01:47Geordie take-over.

02:17As the evening progressed, thoughts of the final began

02:45to creep into many minds, but the joy of being part of this celebration had allowed

03:46At that point though, the final was still many hours away, and the spectacle of thousands

03:51of Newcastle supporters in the heart of the capital, in full voice, was a sight to behold.

03:57I think, you know, as you can see behind you, plenty of fans, plenty of atmosphere, great

04:03atmosphere again, so, you know, we've just got to savour this, enjoy it, and see what

04:07tomorrow brings.

04:08Yeah, everyone seems in good spirits, you know, there's a few fags around, you know,

04:13they've got the pub hanging them from the top, yeah, everyone seems good spirits.

04:19Several miles north-west of Covent Garden, Wembley Stadium was quiet, as if preparing

04:25for what was to come.

04:27Inside, War Flags were busy setting up their pre-match display, in the hope of giving the

04:32players an extra edge ahead of kick-off.

04:36Unhappy memories of two years ago are still fresh for Newcastle, and the Geordies would

04:41not like to see them be repeated.

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