Newcastle United gave their survival prospects a boost after a surprising 3-0 triumph over Swansea City at St James’ Park last night.
Knowing that this was a must win match, the Toon started brightly and controlled the majority of the first-half, albeit without causing opposition gloveman Lukas Fabianski too many worries. After being on the front-foot for the first 40 minutes, the Magpies took the lead when Jamaal Lascelles bundled in a corner from Andros Townsend.
Swansea came out of their shell more in the second-half and missed three golden opportunities to equalise. The nerves and tension around St James’ Park were rising and a long final 10 minutes seemed to be in store for the Geordies.
Any nerves, however, were relaxed after Moussa Sissoko netted from yet another Townsend corner, doubling the lead. After providing the first two goals, Townsend scored one himself on 89 minutes to ensure Newcastle keep their survival hopes alive.
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Formations
Rafa Benitez swung the axe after last weekend’s horror show at Southampton, making five changes with Lascelles, Paul Dummett, Cheick Tiote, Jack Colback and Papiss Cisse coming into the team. Cisse played as the lone striker and was supported by Georginio Wijnaldum, Sissoko and Townsend. Meanwhile, defensive-midfield pair Colback and Tiote played in front of Vurnon Anita, Chancel Mbemba, Lascelles and Dummett, while Karl Darlow started between the posts again.
Unsurprisingly, Swansea named the same team that defeated Chelsea last weekend, with Fabianski in goals protected by Angel Rangel, Federico Fernandez, Ashley Williams and Neil Taylor. Jack Cork and Leroy Fer played in the defensive-midfield role, while Andre Ayew, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jefferson Montero supporting lone striker Alberto Paloschi.
Jamaal Lascelles steps up
The young defender came in for the heavily criticised Steven Taylor and highlighted why he should have been in the starting XI all along. The centre-back made two interceptions, five clearances, and three blocks – one of which was from a shot that looked goal bound while it was still 1-0. Most importantly, he scored the first goal of the match which set Newcastle up nicely, and the job he did on Paloschi and later Bafetimbi Gomis means he should be one of the first names on Benitez’s team sheet against Manchester City on Tuesday.
Montero nullified
When these two sides met at the Liberty Stadium last August, Jefferson Montero tormented Newcastle right-back Janmaat so much he lured the Dutchman into two bookable offences within the first 45 minutes. This time around against Vurnon Anita, the Ecuadorian winger’s influence was significantly less as he had a day to forget, completing none of his six crosses, attempting only three take-ons throughout the match and completing only 69% of his passes.
Townsend at his best on the right
When Townsend first signed in January, he was initially utilised on the left-hand side of midfield with little effect. In recent weeks, he has been moved to the opposite side meaning that now he can cut back onto his left-foot and have a shot on goal or cross it. During the match, Townsend had Swansea left-back Neil Taylor under control and was a constant nuisance.
To cap-off a wonderful individual performance, the winger sealed the win after cutting onto his left-foot and sliding the ball past Fabianski. It is something Townsend is making a good habit of after scoring a superb goal in the loss against Southampton last weekend and it appears he now owns the right-wing spot at Newcastle.
Quiet day for Sigurdsson
Coming into this match, Sigurdsson was in superb form after scoring four goals in five outings and was expected to take advantage of the opposition’s midfield. The Icelandic international had a well below-par match, however, and never recovered from a poor free-kick in the first-half which saw him slip as he hit the ball. The playmaker only had one shot which did not come until the game was all but over in the 90th minute, and overall he just seemed to be anonymous too often during the contest.
Newcastle United conclusion
After a poor run of the results, this win has onlookers asking if the great escape is on. There is still plenty of work to do to stay in the Premier League, but this result means that there is definitely a pulse in their season. Not only have Newcastle closed the gap to three points from safety, but the fact that they have made up six goals on Norwich City (who lost 3-0 to Sunderland earlier) means that a win by any margin against Manchester City will lift the Magpies out of the bottom three. Credit must be given to Rafa Benitez, who made the bold move to omit Jonjo Shelvey and Aleksandar Mitrovic from the starting XI, but good managers are not afraid to gamble and this time it paid off. It will be fascinating to see if any changes are made for the big match against the Citizens on Tuesday.
Swansea City conclusion
After steering themselves clear of the relegation battle on the back of a good run of form and placing themselves on the verge of mathematical safety, it was perhaps to be expected that Swansea were not going to be at their best, but against Newcastle they were well below par and aside from a few decent chances they had in the second-half, never truly troubled Karl Darlow. It will leave Francesco Guidolin scratching his head that this was the exact same team who accounted for Chelsea last weekend. It does not get any easier for the Swans, who travel to the King Power Stadium next Sunday to face likely champions Leicester City.
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