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Opinion

3 Positives and 3 Negatives from Newcastle 1 Everton 2

4 years ago
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Saturday afternoon ended Newcastle 1 Everton 2.

The scousers arrived having won only one way game in the league in nine months.

Once they went ahead on 13 minutes it rarely looked as though they were going to do anything but double that stat. For eight minutes Newcastle were back level but had no answer once Everton deservedly retook the lead.

Ahead of each match we ask one of our writers to come up with 3 positives and 3 negatives following the game.

This time it is Dean Wilkins:

POSITIVES

Miguel Almiron

How lucky are we to have Miguel Almiron?

It is a total joke how he has been treated by Steve Bruce, yet never complains.

Under orders to play as an extra defender for 80% or more of the time, his average starting position when getting  possession is closer to Martin Dubravka than the halfway line.

Our biggest attacking threat almost totally wasted by Steve Bruce, just hope Almiron will stick it out until Bruce leaves.

Martin Dubravka

Yet another top quality display that just about kept Newcastle in the game.

Made numerous saves as Everton easily cut through our midfield and defence at times, laughable when you hear some people who take him so much for granted.

Yes he would usually save that first goal at Man Utd but it wasn’t exactly a massive blunder, the keeper unsighted and the ball dipping as he got his hand to it.  Any mistake he makes sees him get stick, yet others such as Hayden, Shelvey and Willems get such an easy ride when usually contributing so little.

Players putting bodies on the line

Fair play to so many of our players for not complaining and just getting  on with it, playing game after game and doing their best.

Lejeune had to come off and Bruce admitted afterwards that three games in a week had been too much for him (so why do it then???) and Schar and Joelinton are now injured and doubts for Wednesday as well.

I don’t think we have seen any great rotation this month, just a few players left out of the Man Utd match and it written off pretty much.

Surely not a coincidence that the injury situation is so much worse under Steve Bruce this season, as he overplays so many players. ASM the worst example as he has ended up being out longer on two occasions due to the Head Coach being desperate to play him too early/too much.

NEGATIVES

The crowd

There might have been over 50,000 (not over 52k as per the official ‘sold out’ attendance) inside St James Park but it did little for the atmosphere.

Clearly giving away 10,000 season tickets isn’t a magic answer, not to the atmosphere anyway, though of course it does put backsides on seats next to Ashley’s adverts.

The crowd lifted occasionally at the odd decent moment and when the referee didn’t give something our way…but very poor overall. I dread to think what it might be like if we are getting turned over by somebody like Norwich at home.

No plan B (or plan A…)

There was still half an hour to go including stoppage time after Everton took the lead again, yet there seemed to be zero plan on how we were going to score another equaliser.

We didn’t have a single proper go at goal once 2-1 down and Bruce and his players were simply hoping the referee would gift a way back in.

Plan A (if we have one) appears to be just get up the pitch far enough to win free-kicks and corners then sling it into the box and hope a central defender scores, which apparently must be our Plan B as well.

Most winnable

A big worry that we didn’t win this, never mind losing it.

It looked by far the easiest match we have before February and we were clearly second best. Apart from the goal never testing the dodgy mackem keeper.

With Leicester and Chelsea at home, plus Wolves and Everton away, I really worry where we will be in the table when playing  Norwich at home at the start of February.

Stats from BBC Sport:

Newcastle 1 Everton 2 – Saturday 28 December 3pm

Goals:

Newcastle:

Schar 56

Everton:

Calvert-Lewin 13. 64

Possession was Everton 58%, Newcastle 42%

Total shots were Everton 22 , Newcastle 20

Shots on target were Everton 9, Newcastle 5

Corners were Everton 8, Newcastle 5

Crowd: 52,211 (10,000 free NUFC season ticket holders and 3,000 Everton)

Referee: Lee Mason

Newcastle team v Everton:

Dubravka, Yedlin, Schar, Lejeune (Atsu 74), Fernandez, Willems (Sean Longstaff 84), Hayden, Shelvey, Almiron, Carroll, Joelinton (Gayle 74)

Unused Subs

Darlow, M Longstaff, Manquillo, Krafth

(Newcastle 1 Everton 2 – Instant NUFC fan/writer reaction to Saturday’s defeat – Read HERE)

(Newcastle 1 Everton 2 – Watch official match highlights and all three goals here – Watch HERE)

(Newcastle 1 Everton 2 – Third defeat in four games as Andy Carroll is hero then villain – Read HERE)

(The Magpie Group official response to ‘sold out’ Newcastle 1 Everton 2 match – Read HERE)

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