Newcastle United 1-1 Leeds United

#NEWLEE #MatchReport #FullTime

Match Summary...

Friday night football was back under the lights at SJP and whilst I am a sucker for a traditional, Saturday 3pm kick off, I have always had a soft spot for a night game - especially on a Friday; I mean, no better way to start the weekend than with three points, right? Except this is Newcastle United, and specifically, Mike Ashley's and Steve Bruce's Newcastle United, a team whose fans have lost faith in the regime many moons ago and who in large parts, felt they had no choice but to voice their disapproval throughout the match, and in doing so created a toxic atmosphere at times.

I want to preface my next statement with the fact that I absolutely understand the freedom and right that fans have to voice their opinions both positively and negatively at football matches and I can completely understand (and agree with the sentiment behind) the anti-Bruce and Ashley chants. However, having acknowledged this, honestly - what is the point in instantly getting on the players', manager's and board's back as soon as a lucky cross drifts into the corner of our net with barely 15 mins played? Indeed, a 'fan' who sits next to me on a match day on regular occasions promptly called the players, fans and manager 'a bunch of useless c**ts' before promptly storming from his seat and not rerturning for the duration of the match. I just don't get it. the word 'fan' is supposed to be synonymous with 'supporter' isn't it? Yet here we are, singing supportive chants of 'we'll support you evermore' closely followed by derisions of 'we're shit and we're sick of it'. Hipocrisy of the highest order. Surely, as a player, hearing this discontent from the crowd can only negatively impact on performance - I have never heard or seen of a player thriving on negative feedback and being given any sort of boost through feeling inadequate. Newcastle are not in great shape, and some of the players are simply not good enough, but to go to a match simply to hurl abuse at them is about as far from logical as you can get in my book. Anyway, apologies for the rant to begin a match report, but I really feel like this needed acknowledging. Back to matters on the pitch.

This game most definitley fell into the category of 'a great game for the neutral' as both attacks shared a ridiculous 38 goal attempts evenly on a day when profligate finishing and excellent goalkeeping prevented a rather ridiculous scoreline. The visitors dominated the opening 20 mins or so and took the lead when the lively Raphinha whipped an in-swinging cross in from the right wing towards Rodrigo. The Spaniard promptly dummied the ball, wrong footing Darlow as the ball curled just inside the post and gave NUFC the worst possible start.

Newcastle responded relatively well, and whilst always looking vulnerable on the counter, had a genuine threat in attack with Allan Saint-Maximin showing the sort of form that has endeared him to fans since the day he arrived. Cooper and Firpo couldn't deal with the mecurial Frenchman and he was influeintial in everything positive that NUFC created. One such break saw a miscue on Almiron's weaker right foot fall perfectly for Joelinton only 6 yards out, however the Brazilian showed why he gets so heavily criticised (despite an all round pretty decent display) by firing straight at the legs of Meslier and wasting a gilt-edged chance. Matt Ritchie then hit the post with a daisy cutter on his right before a dazzling piece of Maxi magic, which saw him dance past at least 3 defenders before driving the ball into the bottom corner, levelled the scoreline and saw SJP erupt shortly before the break.

With the last action of the first half, Leeds led a swift counter from a NUFC corner and in trademark Bielsa fashion, overloaded the penalty box. With Darlow stranded and the sparsely populated Toon defense in disarray, the ball fell to Junior Firpo only a few yards out, yet his inexplicably fired high over the bar when it looked easier to score. Reprieve for Newcastle. Level at the break.

The second half began with a change in system for Newcastle. Hayden moved into midfield from CB as we switched to a back 4. Willock dropped back to a deeper CM position allowing Longstaff to get forward and support the attack more readily. Whist this did make us look a little fragile defensively and Longstaff's finishing was poor at best and abysmal at worst, it did also lead to a more confident NUFC performance in which we saw much more of the ball than we had done previously and created a host of decent opportunities to find a winner.

Steve Bruce's substitutions (or lack there of) until the game was basically over, did little to appease a baying crowd and a game that could have gone either way, drifted to a 1-1 draw that suited neither team in their quest for a victory but was probably a fair reflection of an entertaining game between two distinctly average teams.

Player Scores...

Darlow 7.8 : Other than one occasion in the second half where he inexplicably sprinted out of his area and got nowhere near the ball, he was excellent. Not at fault for the goal and made a string of saves and catches that ensured we gained at least a point. Will keep his place going forward I would think.

Manquillo 7.2 : Backed up his goal at Old Trafford with a good performance. Kept Dan James quiet and got forward well too. Murphy has a fight on his hands to get his spot back.

Hayden 6.8 : Did okay as CB in the first half and showed how capable he is as CDM in the second. Has been made a bit of a scapegoat recently but did well here.

Lascelles 6.5 : Fairly good display from the captain. Had Bamford in his back pocket for large parts of the game and got up well at corners both offensively and defensively.

Clark 6.2 : Looks half the player he did a couple of years ago but he was not bad here. Did not stand out either positively or negatively other than his errant passing in the opening exchanges.

Ritchie 6.5 : Decent. Had a lot to do defensively agianst Raphinha and generally coped well. Put in some decent crosses and tried to get forward where possible. Unlucky not to score when his potshot hit the foot of the post.

Longstaff 5.8 : Tried hard and put in two excellent tackles and one superb, Shelvey-esque long ball. But that was it. Looked lethargic and had two or three shockingly bad efforts at goal. Will be replaced by Jonjo when he is back to full fitness I would imagine.

Willock 6.5 : Played in a deeper role that I would have liked to see but needed to do so in order to allow for Longstaff's lack of mobility alongside him. Passing was excellent throughout and although he is not scoring the goals of last season yet, we are a much better team with him it, for sure.

Almiron 6.2 : Typical Miggy display. Workhorse that did well defensively but he never really looks a threat does he? Booked for protesting after taking a really quite ridiculous dive. Needs to take that out of his game for sure.

Joelinton 7.2 :Missed a chance that he should have scored and his decision making in the final third is still terrible. However, aside from this he had a really decent game. Good positioning, hold up play and crisp passing saw him contribute well to the cause. But of course, all people will remember is the chance that he missed.

Saint-Maximin 8.2 : #MOTM yet again. The best player on thie pitch by a country mile. Not just his goal but his all round display was superb. Excellent control and dribbling, always looking ot get in behind, and crucially, laying the ball off to colleagues when in previous games he would do too much and lose possession.

SUBS:

Fraser 5.8 : Did not contribute too much but harried and chased well. Basically he replaced Miggy for 20 mins and did exactly what Miggy had done for the previous 70, just without the defensive contributions.

Krafth: N/A

Murphy: N/A

Final Thoughts...

A point gained or two dropped? Hard to say. However, having now played Southampton, Burnley and Leeds at home this season, to have not registered our first win is troubling to say the least. In Wilson, Willock and Saint-Maximin we have three top players capable of winning any game - but behind them, we are distinctly average. How many of our players, other than those three, would get into Leeds' team? or any other team in the PL for that matter (barring perhaps Norwich)? The answer is probably a resounding zero and that tells you all you need to know.

There were positives to take from this game for sure as after 2o mins I could see another embarrassing defeat headed our way and so the lads deserve credit for not rolling over when the fans had definitely turned, but unless we start picking up wins soon, the outlook will continue to look bleak. Watford and then Wolves in our next two games provide a huge opportunity to start climbing the table. Fail to win either of these and it is genuinely hard to see a way back for Newcastle, even this early in the season. However, I shall of course, keep the faith. HTL.

P.S I want to give a little mention to Mr Mike Dean before I sign off. I have some good friends who are referees at Football League level and have witnessed first hand some of the disgusting, unwarranted, personal abuse that match officials suffer and it really is appalling. However, when a referee at the highest level of the game produces the sort of inept, self-centered display that Dean produced here, it is little wonder that referees get some of the verbals that they do. He went out of his way to make the game all about him - summed up by the amount of times he simply shoved the ball under his arm to then award a completely unnecessary drop ball, physically stepped across Isaac Hayden to stop him playing the ball in a promising attack, and then played an extra 90 seconds of added on time at the end to give Leeds every opportunity to find a winner. Rumour has it he will be retiring as a PL ref at the end of the season, and if that is the case, then on this evidence, he will not be missed.