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Leading Newcastle into their first cup final for 20 years, Eddie Howe had just what every manager wants, a settled XI where the defense in particular picks itself. Nick Pope was in a rich vein of form, the England international offering the shot stopping and sweeper qualities that would allow the Magpies to feel at ease in perhaps their biggest fixture in a generation.

All was going well until Pope seemed to forget everything he knew about the geography of a football pitch, handling the ball outside his area under pressure from Mohamed Salah to earn a straight red card. Even Howe could only offer a half hearted complaint that it seemed "harsh" to send off a goalkeeper for deliberately handling outside his area, perhaps the first red card offense that you would come up with if tasked to summarize football's laws.

Pope was banned for the next game, the game, a first cup final since 1999, the chance to end a 68 year wait for a major domestic trophy. In ordinary circumstances the solution would be simple. Newcastle have an eminently adequate backup in Martin Dubravka, a player with 128 Premier League appearances to his name, one who was once rated as one of the better goalkeepers in England. 

There was a fly in the ointment, however. Needing a third choice option between the sticks at the start of the season, Manchester United had loaned in the Slovak international. They had not needed him often but Erik ten Hag, in the interests of preserving David de Gea's fitness, named Dubravka in the starting XI for two EFL Cup ties. Dubravka returned to Newcastle in January but his appearances for Manchester United mean he is ineligible for this contest.  Ironically, the 34 year old will collect his first winners' medal in over a decade only if the Red Devils win at Wembley.

As Pope marched to the dressing room on Saturday, the reality slowly dawned on Newcastle supporters. It was not just that they would be down to their third choice goalkeeper at Wembley, it was that that goalkeeper had been responsible for perhaps the most high profile howler in a recent final. Nearly five years ago in Kyiv, Loris Karius had rolled the ball straight into the outstretched leg of Karim Benzema to hand Real Madrid their first goal. Half an hour later a Gareth Bale punt from range slipped through the German's hands and the Champions League was gone. Karius' Liverpool career was de facto finished.

The years since have not been kind to the 29 year old, shipped out on loan to Besiktas for two years and then on to Union Berlin, where he made just four Bundesliga appearances. His Liverpool contract ticked towards its conclusion and for several months he was out of the game before Newcastle, who had seen Karl Darlow (now on loan at Hull) injure his ankle, picked him up just in case. 

It is not a given that Karius starts at Wembley though since alternative option Mark Gillespie has not played a senior match since September 2020, it seems the most likely scenario. And while Newcastle might have preferred to have Pope between the sticks, Howe does at least see the chance for a storybook conclusion to the Magpies' cup run. 

"As soon as [the Champions League final] happened it was almost that feeling that there's another story in Karius' career - another page or chapter to write and who knows what that chapter will look like? It would be a magnificent chance for him to rewrite the story of his career. There's been loads of stories through the times in football where these things have happened and there's been a really positive outcome or not.

"We can't predict what that will be. That's the beauty of football. We never know what is going to happen." Certainly no one could ever have imagined this confluence of stories; the club who have waited a generation just to get back to a cup final and the goalkeeper haunted by memories of his last showpiece occasion. It would be a tale etched into Wembley folklore if Karius were to be Newcastle's hero on their biggest day.