PLAYER RATINGS – Newcastle 2-1 Southampton: Four 8’s, several 7’s, one 6, a 5 & frustrating 4

The Mags go marching on, with Steve Bruce’s battlers coming from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 at St James’ Park.

Here’s an assessment of each player’s performance along with our marks out of 10:

STARTING 11:

Dubravka – 8 – Made a huge save early on, denying Redmond when he was put clean through on goal, and came to our rescue again moments later to block another powerful strike from the winger. Quick off his line and made big saves in crucial moments.

Manquillo – 7.5 – Another assured display from the much improved right-back. His crossing was mixed at times, but he never stopped running and was a reliable presence at both ends of the pitch.

Fernandez – 8 – Reacted first to latch onto the rebound and score at the Gallowgate End to give us all 3 points. Had a shaky start, struggling with their pace at times when he was pulled out wide, but he’s a fierce competitor who never hides.

Clark – 7 – Made a few key blocks and clearances during a difficult first half from a Newcastle perspective. Was replaced by Schar at half-time with a suspected calf injury.

Dummett – 7 – Brave and committed. Struggled with Redmond’s pace at times, but never gave in and played through the pain barrier, throwing his body at everything despite suffering a broken nose in the second half.

Willems – 5 – He’s been brilliant for us, but looked fatigued and off the pace at times today. Was surprisingly sloppy on the ball early on and almost costing us a goal with a slack pass that put Redmond in behind. Lacked that zip we’ve seen from him at both ends in recent weeks and struggled to link up with ASM down our left. Grew into it in the second half, but had an off day here – and even admitted it himself on social media after the game.

Hayden – 7 – Was the one Newcastle player putting himself about early on, often winning his battles either in the air or on the ground. Not pretty, but his physicality and energy was key in a side that looked leggy today.

Shelvey – 8 – A little sloppy and sluggish at times in the first half, but he picked it up in the second 45 just when we needed him to. Not only did he time his run and leap perfectly to head home the equaliser at a crucial time, his ability to pick up the tempo and get good service into Carroll and ASM was vital late on.

Almiron – 6 – Plenty energy at both ends and tried to make things happen, but struggled to get into the game. Dropped deep in the second half when Carroll came on. Put himself about and won several free kicks in key areas, but

Saint-Maximin – 7 – We struggled to get him into the game early on and failed to release him in good areas when we did, but still managed to win plenty free-kicks and had the odd brilliant moment of magic to skip past several Saints defenders. Was a dangerous outlet on the counter late on, but went off in stoppage time with what looks like another bad hamstring injury.

Joelinton – 4 – Really struggled, sadly. We don’t help him, but he struggled to hold the ball up, showed a lack of understanding with Almiron/ASM and cut a frustrated figure up top. We were awful in the first half so his role was a thankless task at times, but he really does need to show MUCH more. He’s either short on quality or short on confidence….or both.

SUBS:

Schar – 6 – His quality on the ball and passing range gave us a lift in the second have, but he bizarrely got underneath the ball that led to Ings’ opener. Good to see him back, mind.

Carroll – 8* – Totally changed the game and offered so much more than Joelinton. Bulled their centre-backs, whipped in a brilliant cross to set up Shelvey’s equaliser, defended from the front and cleared away several corners at the other end too. My man of the match. We don’t win this without him.

S. Longstaff – N/A – Hard to give him a rating given he only played the final few minutes, but without his brilliant long range strike (which was tipped to Fernandez), we probably don’t win that! Nice to see him back after his recent ban.

(Fancy writing for us? Get in touch at [email protected] & we’ll get back to you!)

About Olly Hawkins

As a Junior Magpie since birth and season ticket holder, I eat, sleep and breathe all things NUFC! Here at the blog, I aim to bring you news, views, match reports and transfer exclusives as and when I get them.

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