Newcastle United's ecstatic fans streamed down Barrack Road towards the statues of Geordie icons Sir Bobby Robson and Alan Shearer that stand at St James' Park, hoping the last leap to long-overdue glory is finally in sight.

Many of those making their way towards the tumult of the city were not born when Newcastle last tasted success – and those who were would have had to dredge deep into their memory bank to recall it.

Newcastle United's last domestic trophy was the FA Cup in 1955, while the club's last major silverware came in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969, a competition that then had the guise of the Uefa Cup and is now the Europa League.

Now, after a comprehensive 4-0 win over two legs against Arsenal that sealed a Carabao Cup final appearance against either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur on 16 March, Eddie Howe and his Newcastle players have the opportunity to end the barren years.

And what a night it was on Tyneside as Newcastle's supporters started in a state of gut-wrenching tension, but then ended high on emotion and elation after reaching Wembley once more.

They went through their full song-sheet in readiness for another showpiece occasion, from "The Blaydon Races", The Beatles' "Hey Jude" as well a Wembley-themed version of Doris Day's "Que Sera, Sera".

The noise echoed long into the night as Newcastle will now attempt to tell a different story from the tale of Wembley failure that has seen them lose five finals since Manchester City were beaten 3-1 in the 1955 FA Cup final.

This is not simply about making amends for defeat to Manchester United at Wembley in the final of this same competition two years ago. This is about redemption for 56 years as outsiders when the big prizes were being collected elsewhere.