We made hard work of it, but Newcastle are into the third round of the Carabao Cup after a penalty shootout win over Nottingham Forest after a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes. Here come the ratings:
Pope (6) – Could do nothing about the goal. Flapped at a cross in the first half which resulted in Burn clearing off the line. Didn’t have to make a save in shoot-out, in the end!
Trippier (6) – Wasteful free kick late in the first half but linked up well with Tonali and Almiron. Hooked after an hour
Krafth (7) – Handled the physicality of Awoniyi well and is looking more assured at centre back. Solid back up
Burn (7) – Will be disappointed not to have dealt with the long throw leading to the goal but otherwise rarely put a foot wrong.
Hall (6) – Shaky start with some poor giveaways and defensive reads, but improved as the game wore on and gave us an outlet in possession. Have to question whether left back is his best position going forward.
Willock (N/A) – Scored after 20 seconds but unfortunately picked up a thigh injury shortly after. Deserves some good luck on the injury front.
Joelinton (5) – Another below par performance from big Joe. Sloppy in possession and caught out positionally in defence on more than one occasion. Missed a penalty and didn’t look confident. Hopefully gets back to his best on Sunday.
Tonali (8) – What a joy to see him back. Ran his socks off and played some wonderful progressive passes. Pace is a huge asset with some great recovery runs.
Almiron (6.5) – Typically busy performance and looked sharp in the first half. Had an opportunity to make it 2-0 and won some crucial free kicks to alleviate pressure.
Barnes (7) – Always available as an outlet coming out of danger. Caused the Forest defence a few headaches. Switched to the right with the introduction of Gordon.
Isak (6) – Early opportunity saved by Miguel but aside from that found it difficult to get into the game too much.
Subs:
Guimaraes (6.5) – Brought on early to replace Willock. Took control of the midfield in the first half but influence faded in the second.
Gordon (6.5) – Went looking for the ball and created a few openings. Decent 30 minute cameo.
Longstaff (7) – Won the ball back a few times and looked sharp on the bell – he even completed a dribble in injury time! Made some great runs to create space for Barnes and Livramento. Tucked away the winning penalty. A good cameo from our local lad.
Livramento (7) – Very good off the bench with some crucial interceptions in defence and lung busting supporting runs in attack.
Very underwhelming nondescript comment on Longstaff who did everything asked of him very well. What exactly does he have to do to get some measure of praise?
Tonytoon(Quote)
He was a million times better than Bruno. Again.
But hey…
Nodding dogs and all that.
Richard Oliver(Quote)
Bruno wasn’t a 7 like
Absolutely glorious(Quote)
I hear you. Seems Sean is often made the scapegoat for the performances of the whole midfield. Its not always pretty but he’s efficient. I can’t put my finger on it but it appears there is some disenchantment in the team that is showing slightly. The spirit we saw isn’t as much there. Saturday can’t come quick enough without a last minute big name departure. Winning a cup this season needs to be our statement of intent that we are a club worthy of players the next level up. Amanda Staveley departure has left a void that someone behind the scenes showed passionate excitement to show the owners and fans were on the same page.
Neil of Gatesheed(Quote)
Well off his usual self. Its as if the big names can’t get low ratings so the likes of Longstaff get the flak. Something is off in midfield and whatever it is has effected team spirit. I wonder if a departure is coming at the last minute and is effecting performance and moral.
Neil of Gatesheed(Quote)
You are as good as your last game, in Joelinton’s case the last two have been very poor.
I don’t know why he has been praised so much by Howe and Shearer as he thinks he is better than he is, wants to get his head straight and wake up.
Joseph(Quote)
If longstaff had played as bad as Jolinton the last two games he would have got some serious dog’s abuse which just shows the mindset of some of our fans just my opinion a fully fit Willock should start in midfield ahead of Jolinton the difference in our midfield when he came on on Sunday and up till his injury last night was huge
Darren Bebb(Quote)