An early train over to Burnley and a confession… | OneFootball

I have to confess, when I got tickets for this game I thought it would be a slam dunk, a great opportunity to snatch a straightforward three points on the road against a side that have proven themselves ill-equipped for the Premier League.

Burnley then proceeded to put the ghoulies and indeed collywobbles up me, as they strung together a set of results that saw them come into today only two points adrift of fourth bottom Forest, notwithstanding the latest points deduction / restoration situation.

With United desperate for the finish that will secure Europe, there could be some heavy duty sorting out done today.

Having got an early train over, I have to say Burnley is a great place to have a pre match warm up. Plenty bars, friendly locals and I can heartily recommend the Palazzo for a cheeky Italian.

It’s not the first time in recent years that I’ve bemoaned the loss of a canny and convenient trip to relegation but the need was there to push Burnley further towards that trap door.

This task seemed a lot easier when this turned out to be the game we were waiting for. Almiron, Joelinton and Pope were all restored to bench duty as we got a glimpse of what this team could have been but for a season of injury nightmare. If a change up was needed later in the game there were options aplenty.

It seemed like a change might indeed be needed as Burnley started off looking the better team. Bruno Larsen broke the offside trap only for Dubravka to come out sharply to deny him, then an excellent tackle from Dan Burn brought echoes of him keeping us in the game against Sheff Utd last week. There was a hairy moment when Assignon collapsed theatrically in the box under a mild shove from Bruno but the ref was rightly having none of it.

My hopes pre-match were that Burnley’s need to get a result would see them need to attack, thus leaving them vulnerable on the counter attack. Having navigated the early storm, this was to prove exactly how United won the game, and congratulations are in order towards myself for calling it. Smith wins again.

Isak dropped off deep to pick the ball up and steamed towards the box before offloading to Murphy via Longstaff. Murphy zipped down to the byline before sending a dangerous ball across that Isak met on the run. Muric saved, but here we saw the benefits of starting two strikers, as Wilson was on the spot to knock in the rebound. That took Wilson outright as our second all time Premier League goalscorer, although he’s still 100 behind you know who.

The first goal can be decisive when you’re playing a side in trouble as confidence can callapse a bit, and so it proved, as United went in for half time with the game as good as won. Lewis Hall has looked really good for me since coming in at left back and today was one of his best games. It was his interception, run and cross that found Wilson in the box. He took it to the touchline but there was Murphy making that run again, and he cut back to Sean Longstaff who swept in from the edge of the area.

There was barely any time to panic that you can’t get comfortable at 2-0 where Newcastle are concerned. Burnley’s attempts to play out from the back were thwarted as Burn easily dispossessed Assignon and released Gordon. His run drew the defence in and gave an acre of space for Bruno, who made it look easy as he steered in a welcome third.

Half time came and there were several messages confirming the camera had done its usual trick of honing in on handsome me at regular intervals.

Given this was your standard untelevised 3pm kick off I can only assume that the unnamed folks sending such messages were either abroad on holiday or naughty.

It chucked it down second half and it was a thoroughly soggy looking Anthony Gordon that got hauled to the floor for yet another penalty. A small conflab ensued as Wilson and Isak seemed to be debating who got the kick, a tricky decision as both have 100% records from the spot for Newcastle. Isak got the nod and subsequently surrendered his record, failing to slot his usual effort direct into the corner and putting it central enough for Muric to save. Probably for the best that we get the miss out of the way when it doesn’t matter eh?

It took seconds for Isak to put things right, Wilson breaking and Jacob Murphy turning up yet again to speed off down the right. His centre evaded Wilson but found Isak unmarked at the back post with time to take a touch and smash in a goal reminiscent of his league cup winner v Man City.

I felt a bit sorry for Almiron, whose own return from a short term injury was overshadowed by the raucous reception for the welcome return of Joelinton. Joe literally started bullying people about in midfield as he ran on the field in an instant reminder of what we’ve been missing in his absence.

Matt Ritchie was also brought off the bench and it was his awful backpass that led to Burnley’s consolation, going out for a corner that O’Shea met with a looping back post header. No clean sheet, but I have to say, this was my favourite 4-1 away win since Easter Monday 2006.

Burnley fans left the ground to the miserable news that Forest’s win had gone a long way towards sending them back to the Championship. I hope they’re back soon, as nice little jaunts around the north are becoming a bit of a top flight rarity nowadays.

United though, are only looking up.

This felt like an essential win and that goes for next week’s visit of Brighton as well. Get those points on the board and let’s see what we need from Old Trafford, with our rivals facing a couple of tricky games in the meantime.

Europe would be some outcome after a season mostly navigated with a far depleted squad.

The one that won well today was as strong as it’s looked in many months, hopefully they’ve got enough to get that string finish that will set up for promising times ahead.

See ya Burnley, it’s been fun. Now how do you get to Ipswich…

Stats via BBC Sport:

Burnley 1 Newcastle 4 – Saturday 4 May 3pm

Goals:

Newcastle United:

Wilson 19, Longstaff 35, Bruno 40, Isak 55

Burnley:

O’Shea 86

(Half-time stats in brackets)

Possession was Burnley 46% (52%) Newcastle 54% (48%)

Total shots were Burnley 17 (8) Newcastle 23 (15)

Shots on target were Burnley 5 (3) Newcastle 11 (6)

Corners were Burnley 4 (3) Newcastle 11 (5)

Referee: Anthony Taylor

Newcastle team v Burnley:

Dubravka, Livramento, Krafth, Burn, Hall, Longstaff (Joelinton 77), Bruno, J Murphy (Anderson 69), Gordon (Ritchie 85), Isak (Almiron 77), Wilson (Barnes 69)

Unused subs:

Pope, Dummett, White, A Murphy

You can follow the author on Twitter @Mr_Dolf

(Embarrassing – BBC Sport pundit comments before AND then on the Burnley 1 Newcastle 4 reality – Read HERE)

(This is excellent from Vincent Kompany after Burnley 1 Newcastle 4 thrashing – Read HERE)

(Burnley 1 Newcastle 4 – Instant Newcastle fan / writer reaction – Read HERE)

(Newcastle United class blows the Clarets away – Burnley 1 Newcastle 4 – Read HERE)

Newcastle United matches now confirmed for rest of the season:

Saturday 11 May 2024 – Newcastle v Brighton (3pm)

Wednesday 15 May 2024 – Man U v Newcastle (8pm) Sky Sports

Sunday 19 May 2024 – Brentford v Newcastle (4pm)

(The final day of the season live TV matches will be selected closer to the day but all 10 PL games will be same time same day)

Wednesday 22 May 2024 – Tottenham v Newcastle (at MCG – Melbourne Cricket Ground)

Friday 24 May 2024 – A-League All Stars team v Newcastle (at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne)