Newcastle made it two wins and two clean sheets in two days as Harvey Barnes’ strike sealed a 1-0 victory over Stade Brest in the Sela Cup. Here come the ratings from St James’ Park:
Dubravka (7) – Made some important saves and looked confident. Could be his last appearance at St James’ Park with the goalkeeping department in need of trimming down.
Trippier (7) – Typical tidy performance with trademark quality from set pieces. Looked assured defensively. Will be interesting to see who Howe picks at right-back next Saturday after Livramento’s strong pre-season.
Schar (7) – Worryingly went off with what is hopefully a minor injury. Performed well and has quickly built up a good synergy with Kelly. Made one brilliant challenge to deny Brest, which is where he picked up his ankle knock.
Kelly (7.5) – Great assist for Barnes goal with a long ball over the top and showed impressive pace to sweep up at the back. Good 90 minutes in the bank for his fitness. One poor giveaway but was generally assured.
Lewis (6.5) – Given plenty of minutes in pre season and acquitted himself pretty well. Positioning could be questioned at times but is a handy squad option give Targett’s lack of fitness, although he probably needs a move.
*Guimaraes (8) – The conductor. Masterclass in the middle from Bruno who was at the heart of everything. Showed his full range of passing and is ready to hit the ground running next week.
Harrison (5) – Big opportunity today being named in the starting XI. Gave away the ball cheaply on the edge of his own box, struggled physically and failed to really stamp his authority on the game. One for the future but behind Jamie Miley on pre season form, I’d say. He’s only 18, though.
Willock (7) – 88 minutes in the bank and after a great first half faded away slightly in the second. Tremendous pressing and defensive reads early turned defence into attack and his direct running caused problems before he ran out of gas.
Almiron (6.5) – Good early through ball for Osula and a decent cross for Barnes. Full of running and a master of the high press. Slipped out of the game in the second half.
Barnes (7.5) – Brilliantly taken goal cutting in off the left and firing into the far corner. Was under a bit of pressure to perform and delivered, although some of his general play was a little sloppy. Great back up option to Gordon.
Osula (8) – Everything we read was true. Looked very quick, direct, showed great movement and unlucky to be half a yard offside before finishing calmly, which was encouraging in itself. He is still raw but has all the ingredients to succeed based on his impressive physical profile, pace and movement.
Subs:
Vlachodimos (7) – Great save early in the second half and comes off his line well. Looks like a very confident keeper.
Sanusi (6.5) – Struggled to make as much of an impact in attack today but showed a willingness to get back and defend on more than one occasion. Decision making needs work but he can be proud of his pre season.
Ashby (6) – Fourth choice right back as things stand and likely heading out the door on loan. Did his job well without standing out too much.
Hernes (6) – Valuable experience playing alongside the first team and another one who looks to have the right ingredients to be a top player. Work in progress.
Stanton (N/A) – On for the final few minutes, so didn’t really get a kick.
Munda (N/A) – See above.
