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Opinion

Steve McClaren ‘Newcastle started to play football and control the game after first goal’

9 years ago
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Steve McClaren believes that after being penned back in the first 10 minutes and conceding a goal, Newcastle then started to play football ‘and control the game’.

Whilst United did have a few breaks and Gabriel Obertan did well a couple of times cutting in from the left and shooting, forcing one good save from Fabianski, I think claiming that Newcastle were in any kind of ‘control’ is straying into Pardew territory.

What is indisputable, is that once Daryl Janmaat left the pitch Newcastle had no chance once they were a man down.

The Newcastle Head Coach at least pleased with the attitude shown by his team in the second half, saying that the players fought until the end and stayed in the game.

With Swansea scoring the second after only 52 minutes, things could have got very messy.

However, a combination of Swansea taking it easy and Newcastle belatedly applying themselves in defence, meant a small amount of self-respect was achieved in those final 40 or so minutes.

Steve McClaren talking to the club’s official TV channel:

“Frustrating, after 10 minutes I thought we settled down and came back into the game but you can’t win football matches, especially in the Premier League against a team like Swansea, with only 10 players.

“It was a case of just staying in the game and fighting as much as possible, which the players did, I learnt nothing from the match apart from you can’t win with 10 players.

“I thought we came back into the game (after opening goal) with one or two breaks and some chances, started to play football and control the game, but as soon as you got to 10 men….

The interviewer also asked about the late yellow card for Aleksandar Mitrovic very quickly after coming on:

‘Mitrovic already getting an undeserved reputation?’

“Difficult to get a reputation after one game but we didn’t see anything in it, the referee was too fussy and should have let the game flow.”

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