Expected result but commendable performance - Newcastle 1 Tottenham 2

Newcastle 1 Tottenham 2 – Saturday 11 August 12.30pm

Decent performance but unfortunately no points to show for it.

We attacked well in spells and looked relatively solid – although Spurs didn’t offer all that much going forward themselves.

A defeat was always the most likely outcome beforehand and we performed better than most would have anticipated but this still feels like a missed opportunity.

Kenedy was bright but understandably looked off the pace at times and it was excruciating to see him fluff that glorious chance when he was clean through.

Diame settled into the game in the second half after a shaky opening and was unlucky not to score.

Shelvey was probably our best performer, picking up where he left off at the end of last season.

Special mention for Ritchie though. Tenacious as ever, fantastic delivery for the goal and very unlucky to be subbed. Why we would ever dream of selling him is beyond me.

Great to see Rondón get some game time. I really have high hopes for him. Maybe won’t score 15+ but he offers a real physical presence up front and holds the ball up well to bring others into play… a bit like what we all wanted Mitrovic to be!

Muto also looked to have something about him when he came on for the last few minutes. Looking forward to seeing more of them.

Lejeune was missed – hopefully we can get Schär (or Fernandez) into the first XI ASAP ahead of Clark.

Fingers crossed that Yedlin’s injury isn’t too serious either – I don’t like the thought of Manquillo being a regular starter….!

All in all, expected result, commendable performance. Here’s hoping we can keep things solid and nick a win at Cardiff next weekend. HWTL!