Scary negatives and slight positives - Newcastle 0-1 Brighton takeaways
Newcastle United fell to a gutting defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion at St. James’ Park on Saturday afternoon. United huffed and puffed but insipid finishing meant that they came away empty handed to make it four games without a win in the league.
Danny Welbeck scored the only goal of the game against the run of play in the first half before being stretchered off with a nasty looking injury in the second. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Here’s part one of our key takeaways from the game:
- Slight Positives
Despite the result there were positives to take from Saturday. United had 21 shots to Brighton’s ten, they had the most possession they’ve had in a game this season (59.9%), 45 touches in the opposition box and generally used the ball well with the patterns of play clear to see. There was some clever off the ball running and elements of the high press were evident – although not effective.
Dan Burn played well, covering runs and marshalling the back line but at home you really don’t want one of your centre backs being man of the match. Gordon looked sharper, Isak is back, and Saturday was genuinely one of those games where you can count yourselves unlucky to lose.
Newcastle created more than enough to win that game. Poor finishing cost United dearly as Isak looked a shadow of the player he was last season, Gordon was profligate, and Murphy offered literally nothing (more on that later).
- Scary Negatives
The major scary negative that continues for United is the lack of goals from open play. In 4.5 hours of Premier League football United have scored one penalty. Eight games into the league season and there, worryingly, appears to be no obvious answers for what Newcastle are good at and what the style of play is meant to be. Right now, I’m not really sure what our identity is.
With the league table taking shape Newcastle are in danger of being cut adrift from the top four. Putting aside the potential for 5th place to be a Champions League spot – Liverpool, City, Arsenal, and (this one really hurts) Villa look to be pulling away, especially when you consider the difficult fixtures United have on the horizon. Factor in Chelsea’s game on Sunday and the table could be very tough to look at this week as we languish in mid table obscurity.
