Newcastle 3-0 Swansea - Fan reaction

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably wondering what this strange feeling is today. Newcastle United won a game. We didn’t roll over and lose it, we didn’t fight for a boring 0-0 draw like we would’ve under McClaren, we didn’t even narrowly win it. We won a game by a comfortable three goals.

That feeling, is satisfaction.

So what changed for us? In the space of a week, we’ve gone from not being able to defend to save our lives, and not being able to score more than one a game, to keeping a clean sheet and banging three in.

The difference today in my opinion, was a certain man named Andros Townsend. You’re probably going to read his name a lot in the next couple of days, and he deserves every single mention.

Easily our man of the match, he ran the entire right side of the field today. He took the corners that resulted in the first two goals, and then decided to pop up with one of his own for our third. However, he didn’t just add to our attacking strength, he also gave Anita some back-up against Montero. I must give some plaudits to Duthcman, the right back position definitely seems more comfortable for him. He handled Montero, stood him up, and put in the tackle when it was needed. I still don’t like him as a defender, and one game doesn’t wipe away the countless other poor ones he’s had, but credit where it’s due, he played well today.

Another player who seemed to have been possessed by an actual professional footballer was Moussa Sissoko. Criticised heavily in past weeks, and rightfully so, he stepped his game up today. Contrary to what I would’ve said a few months ago, he looked good as a central attacking midfielder. He wasn’t perfect by any means, he lost the ball a few times and made a couple of wrong decisions while attacking, but when he did lose it, he put the effort in, tracked back, and tried to win it back for his team mates, something I couldn’t quite believe at the time.

I said last week that I loved Aleksandar Mitrovic, and he proved why again today. He’s a hassle for defenders, not letting them have any sort of rest when it comes to thinking about what he’s going to do. He’s physically strong, he practically bulldozed the defender over for Townsend’s goal, and his passion is unwavering. Credited with two assists, and almost scoring one late one, he deserves the love the fans seem to have for him.

He’s going to have some competition from Lascelles soon though, with the 22 year old putting in another very good performance and commanding that back line with maturity beyond his years. After his very strong words after the loss against Southampton, I was keen to see how he backed that up today, and he didn’t disappoint. Dare I say future captain of Newcastle United?

Overall, the performance yesterday was miles different in quality from the one last week. Yes, we conceded a lot of possession, but we didn’t allow Swansea to do much with it. It wasn’t without our faults or mistakes, we’re Newcastle United for god sake, and unfortunately Wijnaldum still looks like a bit of a ghost out there, but it at least showed what this team COULD be capable of, if it actually cared about it’s position in the league. I accepted relegation last week, and whereas I still think it’s going to happen, the results today have gone very well for us, and I almost hate the fact that I’ve not been given some slither of hope.

It’s going to mean nothing if we don’t keep going though. We have to keep this urgency and effort up for the last 5 games. It’s hope, but it’s going to stay reserved for at least another couple of weeks, and well, it’s Man City next...