Newcastle 3-3 Man Utd

SUPERB MAGPIES FIGHTBACK TWICE TO EARN DRAW

A late Paul Dummett goal ensured the home side didn’t come away empty-handed after an entertaining and hard-fought battle against Louis Van Gaal’s Manchester United. The left-back popped up with the all-important equaliser after a well-struck effort took a deflection off Chris Smalling and into the top corner of the net – much to the elation of the home side.

On a wet and cold evening at St. James’ Park, very few would have thought that this match would go down as an advert for the Premier League. Spirits were high on Tyneside prior to kick-off, with confirmation from the club that Jonjo Shelvey completed his move to the North-East for £12M; 24 hours after Newcastle captured Bordeaux captain, Henri Saivet, for a fee believed to be in the region of £5M.

Wayne Rooney gave the visitors an early lead after Mike Dean awarded a contentious penalty. Chancel Mbemba was penalised for handball, after the ball hit his “raised arm” from a Marouane Fellaini header - an early blow for the Magpies, who had failed to score in their last four games.

The task was made even more monumental, as England U-21 international, Jesse Lingard, made it 2-0, after coolly slotting passed Elliot from a well-timed Rooney pass. The 2nd goal brought much discontent from the home fans, as an anti-Sports Direct banner reading “Sports Direct Shame” was soon unfurled at the Gallowgate. Stewards quickly intercepted, and then ejected the group that was responsible for the banner.

Despite the commotion off the field, a lovely build-up by Newcastle United resulted in a superb cushioned-volley by top-scorer, Georginio Wijnaldum, as the Magpies hit back before half-time. Steve McClaren and his men came out for the 2nd half with a spring in their step and the St. James’ Park faithful reciprocated in full voice with “Pavel Is A Geordie” and a rendition of the Blaydon Races.

Just after the hour mark, Newcastle were deservedly awarded a penalty – first time in 13 months - after Chris Smalling and Aleksandar Mitrović were involved in a tussle from a corner; the former bringing the Serbian forward down in the box, leaving Mike Dean no other option but to point to the spot. Mitrović stepped up and calmly put it to De Gea’s left, who dived to the right, levelling it at 2-2 and bagging his 4th goal of the season.

From then on, it looked as if there was only one winner. Manchester United struggled to get out of their own half, as the Toon Army searched for a 3rd goal. Man of The Match, Wijnaldum, had a goal correctly disallowed after good work from Moussa Sissoko. However, this enthralling game took another twist as Rooney scored a stunning 2nd goal to make it 3-2, with just a little over 10 minutes of the game remaining. Depleted and outdone by another Rooney goal – his 14th goal against Newcastle United – it seemed the home side were facing another defeat.

Fellaini missed a glorious chance to put the game to bed, as Van Gaal’s men slowly started to take control of the final few minutes. Up-step the unlikely hero, Paul Dummett. A lofty cross by Daryl Janmaat failed to find Mitrović, but was half-cleared by Smalling and it landed at the feet of Dummett - the furthest forward he’s been all game - and he unleashed a powerful effort from the edge of the box that took a slight deflection off Smalling, leaving De Gea with no chance.

The Magpies were level once again, and this time there would be no further slip-ups from either sides as the game drew to a close and finished 3-3 - an end-to-end encounter that was a befitting tribute to Pavel Srníček and the class of The Entertainers that he was so proud of. This time there were no jeers or boos after the final whistle, only applause of appreciation for both sides that rewound the time and served up, yet another, stunning Premier League fixture.

Writer’s Perspective – 12th January 2016

What did we learn?

Once again, Newcastle United demonstrated that they have the fight when it comes down to playing against the top-6 sides. The hunger and passion is definitely there, but the players just seem to choose on when they fancy a fight. I don’t think we learnt a great deal, despite scoring 3 goals, it’s still evident that we need a striker. Coloccini had a decent game, but he isn’t the long-term fix. We have conceded 38 goals, only Sunderland have conceded more (39) – a CB should be a priority this window.

I noticed Pérez was playing as our LW this evening and struggled. I think we would all unanimously agree that Pérez is not a winger. Perhaps he is jaded, and requires a rest? He is harbouring a lot of responsibilities for someone at such a young age, which can be detrimental to his development.

At the end of the day, it was a fantastic and entertaining performance. However, I believe we still very much require a ST/CB/WG.

Can we build from this?

Well, we’ve said this before. When we beat Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, the aim was to build on those results, but that clearly hasn’t happened. However, this time I am a little more optimistic. With the additions of Shelvey and Saivet, I think the two would give us a different dimension in the middle of the park. I fully expect both to play some part against West Ham on Saturday, and I envisage we will play that game with the same intensity displayed this evening, with Georginio Wijnaldum being instrumental to the type of tempo we play.

What’s our best formation?

This evening we lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. This season has been a mixture of 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2 and McClaren even had a go at 3-5-2 against Watford last weekend. In all honesty, I don’t think McClaren knows what’s our best formation. However, I believe he is more inclined to the 4-2-3-1, and I can understand why. It is also a formation that really benefits our best player, Wijnaldum. However, in order to compliment the one up top, we don’t have natural wingers. I will reserve my judgement until we have natural wingers in place. If we do manage to get someone like Andros Townsend in, then I think we will start to flourish in a 4-2-3-1 set-up.