Newcastle United’s third and final Summer Series game ended in victory for Eddie Howe’s Mags, as Elliot Anderson struck in the 92nd minute to seal at 2-1 win in New Jersey.
Here, we pick out some of the positives and negatives from the Red Bull Arena, where Howe made 11 changes just two days on from our draw with Chelsea.
The first has to be Elliot Anderson. He didn’t always have it his own way, yet his battling, constant pressing and determination until the very end paid off. His first goal came from his relentless pressing, forcing Brighton into a mistake that he capitalised on emphatically and his second saw him display real strength and composure, as he latched onto a through ball, held off his man and finished superbly to seal the win.
That’s now four goals in four pre-season games for our local lad and three games on the spin where we’ve conceded first but remained unbeaten, with us ending the Summer Series with draws against Villa and Chelsea and a win over Brighton.
Harvey Barnes showed what he was about when we got him on the ball. One brilliant turn from a long ball down the line saw him burst past his man, cut in and set up Wilson early on. After that, he delivered a few teasing crosses into the box, was positive and direct in his carrying of the ball, forced Brighton to commit fouls and also showed his ability to cut in and shoot or go the other way onto his left foot.
His movement was good, too. On the rare occasion we robbed Brighton of possession, he was immediately on his bike and offering us an outlet. He was easily our most threatening player in the first half, showing a nice mix of pace, strength and directness.
Harrison Ashby did well in amongst some pretty poor performances. He was up against one of the Premier League’s trickiest wingers in Karou Mitoma but dealt with the Japanese star very well in the main. He failed to stop his cross for Brighton’s opener, yet there was plenty of positives from the 21-year-old. The former West Ham talent snapped into tackles, read the play well, looked assured on the ball, aggressive off it and clearly has a lovely right-foot.
The BBC report that he’s ‘close’ to joining Swansea City on loan. A year in the Championship could be perfect for his development, yet this may have given Eddie Howe some food for thought; especially if our attempts to sign Tino Livramento doesn’t progress in the coming days.
Lewis Miley came on for the final 30 minutes and showed his class once again. One standout moment that captured his impressive mix of composure, quality and elegance on the ball saw him pirouette superbly before firing a decisive pass into the box, creating an opening from nothing that Murphy wasn’t able to make the most of.
As for the negatives, the starting line up itself highlighted our real lack of depth. Yes, Longstaff and Willock aren’t fit and would’ve started tonight had they been up to speed, but Howe has talked about wanting two XIs of similar quality and this side was a noticeable level (or two) down from the 11 who started against Chelsea 48 hours ago.
We really struggled to play out from the back – which is no surprise with Lascelles and Dummett at centre-back – and looked unbalanced in midfield, with Matt Ritchie filling in and Elliot Anderson forced to drop deep. Jacob Murphy struggled to get into the game and offered very little down our right, although it was his superb ball late on that set up Anderson’s winner.
It’s only pre-season, but it’s clear we lack real quality or depth down the right side of our attack, with us only an injury away from issues at centre-back and central midfield, too. Of course, we won’t play two games in three days next season or need to rotate an entire 11, but it was another reminder of what we need over the final five weeks of the transfer window.
One player who looked off the pace by his usual high standards was Bruno Guimaraes. The Brazilian was a little careless on the ball, giving it away cheaply in bad areas, and seemed a level or two below his best off the ball. At times, it seemed as though he was running through treacle and a few too many of his tackles were late, seeing him go into the book early.
The Summer Series has been a great workout for the squad and we leave unbeaten across our three games against Aston Villa, Chelsea and Brighton. Our US trip has benefited the club both on and off the pitch, but also exposed areas of the squad and highlighted our need to sign more over the final few weeks of the summer window. If our limitations during today’s game strengthens Howe’s push for further additions, perhaps that’s another positive in itself!
STARTING XI: (4-3-3) Pope – Ashby, Lascelles, Dummett, Targett – Guimaraes, Anderson, Ritchie – Barnes, Wilson, J. Murphy
SUBS: Dubravka, Savage, J. Miley, Turner-Cooke, A. Murphy, Parkinson, L. Miley
