Birmingham City vs Newcastle United – Our Player Ratings

Newcastle travelled to Birmingham City, yesterday in the third round of the FA Cup.

Rafa Benitez’s side no doubt travelled down there confident of a win and eager to put recent disappointments behind them.

United may not have won but to a certain extent they managed to avoid disappointment. Defending well under late pressure and securing a 1-1 draw that will see Birmingham have to travel up for a replay.

The major disappointment of the day was losing Aleksandar Mitrovic to injury. The big striker was stretchered off, after being injured when Daryl Murphy opened the scoring.

So just how did Newcastle do? Here are our player ratings:

Matz Sels: 6 – Grew into the game, making an important catch late on.

DeAndre Yedlin: 6 – Could have done better for the goal, what he lacks for defensively he makes up for in energy.

Jamaal Lascelles: 6 – A mixed bag, has looked uncomfortable on the ball in recent weeks.

Grant Hanley: 8 – Slotted in brilliantly.

Massaido Haidara: 7 – A great return after a long injury lay off.

Achraf Lazaar: 7 – His delivery was great, he just wasn’t used enough.

Vurnon Anita: 6 – Neat and tidy.

Jack Colback: 5 – Struggled and looked to be lacking confidence.

Cheick Tiote: 6 – A little off the pace defensively, did okay when in possession.

Aleksandar Mitrovic: 6 – Seemed to be starting well but was injured after six minutes.

Daryl Murphy: 7 – Challenged for everything, won his fair share.

 

Subs:

Yoan Gouffran: 6 – Tried hard but had little support.

Isaac Hayden: 6 – A silly booking.

Matt Ritchie: 6 – Tried to put his foot on the ball but the game didn’t suit him.

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