NUFC player ratings vs Bournemouth – One 7, three 6.5’s, a few 6’s, several 5’s and one 4

A really frustrating afternoon on Tyneside as Eddie Howe’s Mags have failed to break down Bournemouth in a 1-1 draw.

Alexander Isak scored emphatically from the spot, but we never really looked like scoring from open play and must settle for another point, making it five draws from seven games so far this season.

Here come the ratings:

Nick Pope – 6 – Couldn’t do anything about the goal. Very quiet afternoon, with his only two saves coming from low efforts from range that were straight at him.

Kieran Trippier – 7* – Put in the cross that won the penalty and hit the post in the first half from a free kick. Supported attacks well, was heavily involved and played some lovely balls down the line early on, but Almiron gave him little to work with and our lack of threat from crosses meant several of his deliveries from open play came to nothing.

Fabian Schar – 5 – A lot of stray passes this afternoon and a few naïve efforts from range when he could’ve passed. Lacked patience in possession and got caught out of position for the goal.

Dan Burn – 6.5 – Defended well especially with a brilliant tackle on Solanke when spun in the second half. I was surprised to not see Botman in the first 11 this afternoon as his penetrating passing could’ve made the difference. Burn solid as always. Booked for descent late on.

Matt Targett – 5 – Poor from set pieces and lost the ball with a few too many aimless balls down the line. Didn’t get forward enough or offer Fraser an outball, highlighted by the fact he made just three crosses all afternoon.

Joelinton – 5 – An off day for the big man. His penetrating and powerful forward running failed to show this afternoon. Lost the ball in midfield on a few occasions which subsequently led to Bournemouth counter attacks. Unlucky to have one effort clip the woodwork, but his touch was off today.

Guimaraes – 6.5 – Not his best performance after returning from injury, but he was still better than most in black and white. A few glimpses of quality, but looked a bit leggy and failed to make a telling impact on the match – although this wasn’t helped by our lack of movement in the final third. Subbed in the 71st minute.

Joe Willock – 5 – . Took the bait and released a ridiculous shot from range in the 83rd minute when we were probing with an attack. Pretty much summed up his afternoon. Needs to start adding the late runs into the box back into his game. Only attempted one dribble this afternoon, a skill which he should utilise more.

Ryan Fraser – 5.5 – Denied by Neto with a lovely effort from just outside the box in the first half. Telling runner as always but lacked end product to make a difference. Will have been gutted to not score against his old side having being booed by the travelling fans all afternoon.

Miguel Almiron – 5 – Constantly went backwards and lacked the invention or quality needed to hurt a Bournemouth side who sat deep. Incredibly one-footed, making him too easy to defend against when he hasn’t got space to run into.

Alexander Isak – 6.5 – A quiet afternoon from the Swedish striker, but he took his penalty emphatically to earn us a point. Didn’t have a sniff of goal all afternoon, however I believe his game suits a team that play a higher line than the low block Bournemouth opted for, especially in that second half. Important we play to his strengths over the coming months.

SUBS:

Jacob Murphy – 5 – Came on in the 71st minute and failed to make an impact on the game. Again, it’s worrying that he’s who we must turn to if we need a goal…

Sean Longstaff – 4 – A pretty horrible 20 minute cameo. Lost possession five times and actually made us worse, if anything.

Chris Wood – N/A – Played five minutes. We tried to get crosses into him but nothing came off.