Newsletter

Get your daily update and weekly newsletter by signing up today!

Opinion

3 Positives and 3 Negatives from Newcastle 0 Fulham 0

5 years ago
Share

Saturday afternoon ended Newcastle 0 Fulham 0.

A frustrating match to round off the fixture schedule ahead of Christmas.

Newcastle having the chance to put 10 points between themselves and Fulham, plus what would have been seven points distance to the relegation zone.

Instead, the visiting goalkeeper didn’t have a save to make all game and a very tame goalless draw was the end result.

The Editor asked me beforehand to write about 3 positives and 3 negatives from the game, so here goes…

POSITIVES

Ok, part of this is a real challenge as the positives were thin on the ground to be fair.

Newcastle didn’t lose…

I suppose there has to be a little positive in the fact we did not concede and lose.

This despite the late efforts of the defence and the normally reliable Martin Dubravka.

Paul Dummett

I think a further positive is the fact Paul Dummett came through the game unscathed.

Back from a spell out with injury, he was one of our better performers on the day.

The Big Apple

A third positive is nigh on impossible to find…

However, there were a couple of fans near me who were on holiday from New York (The Big Apple, not the village near Shiremoor!)  and were taking in their first game.

So I’m taking a positive from the fact that NUFC do still have some international appeal – ok I’m clutching at straws on that one!

NEGATIVES

The negatives , there are many but I’m only allowed three

Where is Matt Richie’s magic hat?

Has anyone seen it?

The man who in his first season could produce regular bouts of left footed magic is now seemingly just in the side for his excellent work ethic!

We need a little more from him.

Will somebody please buy him another magic hat for Christmas…

Atmosphere

The crowd yesterday were mainly onside with the players, with no individual booing of anyone.

However, apart from a ten minute spell in the second half, it was again a strangely subdued atmosphere

I know the game did little to inspire anyone but it was noticeable that the players were visibly lifted when the crowd did come to life!

Tactics

Finally, at the risk of upsetting a few people, I thought Rafa got his tactics wrong yesterday.

This was against a team who concede for fun and in my opinion we were too negative.

In essence, we were set up exactly as we were against Huddersfield , looking to soak it up and nick a goal.

We should be taking the game to these teams from the off and the fact that over 90 mins we did not have a single shot on target says it all.

That said, if we nick a 0-0 against Liverpool using the same tactics, all will be good.

Happy Christmas to all followers of NUFC, whichever side of the divide you are on!

Stats from BBC Sport:

Newcastle 0 Fulham 0

Goals…

Possession was Fulham 46% Newcastle 54%

Total shots were  Fulham 4 Newcastle 9

Shots on target were Fulham 2 Newcastle 0

Corners were  Fulham 0 Newcastle 6

Referee: Martin Atkinson

Newcastle United:

Dubravka, Manquillo (Yedlin 84), Schar, Lascelles, Dummett, Ritchie, Ki, Diame, Atsu (Kenedy 72), Rondon, Perez

Unused Subs:

Woodman, Joselu, Muto, Hayden, Fernandez

Crowd: 51,237 was announced but looked around 49,000-50,000 in reality (Fulham around 500, large minibus)

(Rafa Benitez needs to hold his hands up to this one? Read HERE)

(Instant NUFC fan/writer reaction to this bore draw – Read HERE)

(Claudio Ranieri claims Fulham had 4 or 5 chances to win but Newcastle didn’t have single shot at goal – Read HERE)

(Alan Shearer savages Newcastle United match ahead of Match of The Day – Read HERE)

(Paul Merson only sees bleak times ahead for Newcastle United after covering the match against Fulham – Read HERE)

(Rafa Benitez all but rules out a ‘miracle’ at Newcastle this season – Read HERE)
[get_involved]

Share

If you would like to feature on The Mag, submit your article to contribute@themag.co.uk

Have your say

© 2024 The Mag. All Rights Reserved. Design & Build by Mediaworks