Newcastle battled to a 2-1 victory over Spurs in a game where Eddie Howe’s side endured several long spells of pressure from the visitors.
Goals from Harvey Barnes and Alexander Isak either side of a Dan Burn own goal gave Newcastle a second win in two home games — the first time they have won their first two league matches at home since 2000-01 — and helped lift the gloom around St James’ Park after a frustrating end to the summer transfer window.
The Athletic’s George Caulkin, Chris Waugh and Jay Harris pick apart the key facets of the game…
Shaky foundations – but Newcastle find a way again
Four matches unbeaten — and yet still, for long periods, Newcastle were fairly unconvincing. This is certainly not a high-intensity, all-action Eddie Howe outfit yet, anyway.
That is encouraging, in the sense that once Newcastle do find some form, they have a decent platform from which to build. But it is also concerning, because if Newcastle keep making these mistakes, they will eventually be punished.
Tottenham’s dominance of possession (64 per cent) was expected and was, partly, by design. Newcastle wanted to counter-attack, and did so effectively in spells, but the home side were also far too poor when they did win the ball. Once more, their ball retention was lamentable, with a 74 per cent pass accuracy.
Strangely, Newcastle have appeared lethargic off the ball at times this season, and they were made to look leggy again by Spurs. Mistakes crept into Newcastle’s play, with Burn, Jacob Murphy and Bruno Guimaraes guilty of misplacing passes and offering Spurs opportunities.
Nick Pope, meanwhile, made a couple of oddly timed punches, which led to openings for Spurs, including in the build-up to their leveller. After James Maddison cut inside and whipped a shot, Pope then fumbled the effort to Johnson, rather than parrying it away to safety. Pope, however, delivered a string of excellent saves, denying Pedro Perro and Maddison, among others, and he more than made up for his errors.
In the end, Newcastle’s counter-attacking approach delivered the winner, with Jacob Murphy, played through brilliantly by Joelinton, unselfishly squaring for Isak to score his first goal of the season. But the foundations of this victory were shaky once more and need reinforcing.
Chris Waugh
A reminder of how the mood has changed at Newcastle
Along with other representatives of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the Newcastle chairman, was present at St James’ for the first time in 11 months. Much has changed at the club since that extraordinary 4-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain, not least the general mood.
Rumayyan’s appearance beside Asmaa Rezeeq, a Newcastle board member, and Jacobo Solis, head of PIF’s European investment arm, was long-planned rather than a response to a disappointing transfer window, but it came at a delicate moment for a club which has felt little but uplift since the Saudi-led takeover almost three years ago.
As Nufc.com, the influential supporter website, put it in an editorial piece after the summer window closed without Newcastle making a significant signing, “the leadership of the club is in question for the first time since Mike Ashley left; our direction and ambition genuinely unclear at this point.”
As well as a tribute to Sandro Tonali, the Wor Flags fans group held up a banner for the second game in succession which featured the faces of Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, the co-owners who left the club this summer, and the phrase “Thank you.” It felt pointed.
Wins are the best balm of all and although Newcastle were never convincing, much in keeping with their early-season form, they got the job done in an atmosphere that was wholly supportive. Even so, good players need competition and good teams improve. Al-Rumayyan’s rare visit should bring some sharp questions.
George Caulkin
(Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Spurs frustrated away from home again
On their previous two visits to St. James Park, Tottenham were overwhelmed by Newcastle’s intensity and had lost before half-time. The way they dominated possession and looked like the better team for large spells makes this defeat sting in a different way.
Until Harvey Barnes opened the scoring in the 35th minute, Ange Postecoglou’s side were generating the best chances. They kept creating overloads on the left wing with Son Heung-Min, James Maddison and Destiny Udogie before firing the ball into central areas. Pape Matar Sarr and Pedro Porro had multiple long-range efforts blocked or saved by Nick Pope.
They had clearly identified a weakness in Newcastle when they defend corners and repeatedly played them short. In the first-half, this led to Cristian Romero scoring from Porro’s cross but the centre-back had strayed offside.
Postecoglou made a bold call at half-time by bringing Brennan Johnson on for Sarr. This meant the front three was completely reconfigured with Wilson Odobert moving over to the left wing, Son going upfront and Dejan Kulusevski dropping into central midfield. It worked well, with Johnson constantly getting into 1-v-1 situations with Burn while Kulusevski thrived driving directly at Newcastle’s defence.
They did excellently to equalise but all of that hard work was undone by one simple through ball by Joelinton. It split Tottenham’s defence wide open, left Udogie scrambling after Jacob Murphy and ended with Isak scoring the winner.
Tottenham switched off twice in this game and paid the price on both occasions. For the second time in two Premier League away games, Spurs had more of the ball and often had their opponents penned in to their own penalty area, but have come away with a win.
What did Eddie Howe say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What did Ange Postecoglou say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Newcastle?
Sunday, September 15: Wolverhampton Wanderers (A), Premier League, 4.30pm BST, 11.30am ET
What next for Tottenham?
Sunday, September 15: Arsenal (H), Premier League, 2pm BST, 9am ET
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(Top photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
