Howe about that!! – My Newcastle United matchday 15 review | OneFootball

What an exciting day for all fans and lovers of Newcastle United.

A first win of the season was much needed and you could tell from the full time celebrations how much Newcastle 1 Burnley 0 meant to the fans at SJP and the new owners!

The game got off to a slow start for us, with Maxwel Cornet and Wood combining seamlessly for most of the first half.

However, that second half performance is the type of stuff we’ll be needing from now.

Here are my thoughts on the game…

Keeper

Didn’t have much to do but he still looks shaky to me.

One incident stood out to me, where he punched a ball above his CBs head, with no offensive player in sight. On a different day, that could have been a catastrophe.

He is another player who could do with some confidence and I’m pretty sure the clean sheet would give him a bit of life.

Defence – 9/10

Solid for most of the game. Did well to cope with the threat of Wood and non-threat of sub Vydra. They would have been grateful to see Cornet limp off and glad that Rodriguez only had a few minutes on the pitch.

Nonetheless, they did the basics – stuck to their men, made good clearances, kept a neat line. It’s amazing what can be achieved with a bit of coaching.

Midfield – 8/10

Willock is great at laying in tackles and winning a ball but he is not a defensive midfielder. We need him linking further up the pitch with the attack and I hope Eddie Howe understands that. Hayden, Longstaff and (even) Hendrick can play DM.

Shelvey had a good game. Almiron was immense. Allan Saint-Maximin finally roamed into the middle and got involved in a game to good effect. Good showing from all involved.

Forwards – 9/10

Callum Wilson is a beauty to behold in the 18 yard box. He made a difficult chance look easy with a sublime finish, reminiscent of Pukki’s goal last time out. All round good game.

Joelinton had a good showing as well and looks like a man with confidence. He took on some shots where he would have passed the ball in the past.

Manager – 8/10

This team lacks big name players but not ability. All they need is a manager to get them firing at their best.

For example, Brentford who are sitting in 12th are no better than us on paper.

Eddie Howe seems to be instilling that confidence into the players and is gradually cementing his 442 come 4231 formation with the players.

This weekend, he made the right substitutions and switched to a back five at the right time. Great starting line up and a great result.

Fans – 10/10

You would be forgiven for thinking we had won the Champions League with that roar at full time. SJP was rocking for the final few minutes and gave the players a much needed boost to close out the game.

Finally got three points and even a clean sheet!!

Who knows what could happen when we play the big boys in the coming weeks? I will be staying optimistic.

What a time to be a Geordie!!!!

Position: 19th

Record: W1 D7 L7

Goals scored: 17

Goals conceded: 30

Stats from BBC Sport:

Newcastle 1 Burnley 0 – Saturday 4 December 3pm

(Half-time stats in brackets)

Goals:

Burnley:

Newcastle:

Wilson 40

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

Total shots were Burnley 10 (6) Newcastle 18 (7)

Shots on target were Burnley 1 (1) Newcastle 4 (1)

Corners were Burnley 3 (1) Newcastle 10 (2)

Referee: Paul Tierney

Crowd: 51,948 (Burnley 1,600)

Newcastle United:

Dubravka, Manquillo, Schar, Lascelles, Lewis, Shelvey, Willock, Saint-Maximin (Murphy 90+1), Almiron (Fernandez 85), Joelinton, Wilson

Unused Subs:

Darlow, Ritchie, Hayden, Hendrick, Krafth, Longstaff, Gayle

(Match Report – The Newcastle United equivalent of going to work with a bad hangover…usually – Read HERE)

(3 Positives and 3 Negatives from Newcastle 1 Burnley 0 – Read HERE)

(Eddie Howe with confident declaration for Newcastle United fans – Read HERE)

(Newcastle 1 Burnley 0 – Match ratings and comments on all the NUFC players – Read HERE)

(Alan Shearer celebrates at St James Park “A winnnnnn and a clean sheet, is it Xmas!!!?” Read HERE)