Hillsborough shows value as Sheffield Wednesday driven to 2-1 FA Cup win over Newcastle United by fabulous fanfare

Most obvious was Josh Windass, scorer of two goals and Martin Dubravka's fingertips away from a second hat-trick in a week.

Manager Darren Moore must take some credit, his eyebrow-raising decision to leave Windass out of Christmas wins over Fleetwood Town and Port Vale vindicated.

Cameron Dawson's reflexes and strong left hand to £58m striker Alexander Isak's seventh-minute header set the tone. Another save from Isak was big, and coming almost immediately after the opener made a left-footed stop from Elliot Anderson crucial.

The Barry Bannanless midfield was terrific, Will Vaulks and George Byers excellent even before Moore added Dennis Adeniran at half-time.

Had the game been 89-and-a-half minutes of dross and all the fans saw was Byers' Cruyff turn to leave two Newcastle players for dead and start the move which ended with Adeniran's measured low ball and a deft Windass touch into the net, they would have got their money's worth.

On another day we would have been raving about the defensive display from Mark McGuinness, tinged with sadness because surely Cardiff City will have watched it and thought they must exercise their loan recall clause this week.

But the most encouraging performance was from 21,000 home fans.

An FA Cup tie worthy of a full house did not get one but lacked nothing in atmosphere as a result.

"It reminded me of Arsenal (a 3-0 League Cup win in 2015), the atmosphere with a full away following from Newcastle and a proper cup tie," said Dawson, who first came to the ground with his dad aged five.

As soon as Windass latched onto Michael Smith's perfectly-threaded pass and put his team 2-0 up with a finish which when made by a League One striker was a blatant breach of the trade descriptions act, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe told Kieran Trippier he was his fifth substitute.

Trippier ran on to take a corner headed on by Chris Wood – not an upgrade on a fresh Isak but an improvement on one weary from his first competitive football since mid-September – and converted by Brazilian World Cup midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, another substitute.

Good as the Owls had been, the instant response would have led to at best a draw, probably defeat behind closed doors or at St James' Park.

But the roar of encouragement from three sides of the ground tipped the balance. Every defensive block – and there were plenty – was greeted like a third Owls goal. There nearly was one, but a Windass free-kick was touched onto the crossbar.

"It definitely energised the boys because the fans saw the level of energy they put in and really got behind us," said Moore. "It gave us fresh hope and impetus."

Too often in Moore's tenure, Hillsborough has been flat, even in big wins or long unbeaten runs. The Owls were the English league team with most points in 2022, yet supporters have never really fallen head over heels in love with them.

The earth – or rather the terraces – moved for them on Saturday.

There are few more exhilarating experiences in football than sitting in a giant concrete stand wobbling to the passion pouring from it. Given how the main stand did once Windass scored his second, goodness knows what The Kop was like. The volume never relented and at full-time it turned up to 11.

Wednesday had earnt it. Although they never parked the bus there needed to be a lot of dogged first-half defending and the more Newcastle dominated the ball, the more you feared a shot even Dawson could not stop.

Adeniran let them be more positive and Windass did his thing.

The Owls got lucky late on, Trippier’s brilliant pass allowing Joelinton to find Wood in plenty of space but he ballooned his finish.

"To have that feeling at the full-time whistle and be able to turn around and celebrate with the Kop was excellent," said Dawson. "It was a reminder for everyone what this club could be like week in, week out.

"We were lapping it up."

Now Moore – who watched Leeds United’s clean sheet at St James' seven days earlier for tips – must demand the same from his players.

In such a tight League One promotion race, they need every bit of help they can get. Given their centre-back injuries, the scouts must come up trumps if McGuinness goes.

Whilst it is unrealistic to expect supporters to hit the same heights against Fleetwood Town, they showed how decisive they can be.

"Thank you to the fans, I'm really pleased we've delivered a good performance in front of them and won the game," said Moore, whose team is unbeaten in 18 matches.

"You'll go a long, long way to find more special atmospheres."

Sheffield Wednesday: Dawson; Iorfa, McGuinness, James; Palmer (Hunt 88), Dele-Bashiru (Adeniran 46), Byers (Bakinson 90), Vaulks, Johnson; Windass (Wilks 90), Smith (Paterson 88). Unused substitutes: Stockdale, Famewo, Brown, Mighten.

Newcastle United: Dubravka; Manquillo, Lascelles, Botman, Lewis (Trippier 68); Joelinton, S Longstaff (Guimaraes 60), Anderson (Willock 60); Ritchie, Isak (Wood 46), Murphy (Almiron 60). Unused substitutes: Dummett, Fraser, Darlow, Burn.

Referee: M Salisbury (Lancashire).