Newcastle weren’t at the races against Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Magpies missed the opportunity to break the club record for consecutive wins in all competitions. To compile the misery, they also failed to boost their chances of finishing in the top four at the end of the season.
It’s an important time of the season for Newcastle. They’re right at the tail end of the busiest period of the campaign. They needed to get it right but failed to do so.
Newcastle’s defeat to Bournemouth means that Nottingham Forest has the chance to extend their gap in third place.
Alexander Isak’s fabulous goalscoring run is over, the Swede failed to net against Bournemouth meaning he missed out on breaking the record for goals in consecutive Premier League games.
On Saturday against Bournemouth, things were exactly the same. After a sloppy start to the first half, Newcastle levelled the game thanks to a fine header from Bruno Guimaraes. However, shortly after the goal the Magpies struggled to take control of the game and were being easily intercepted when playing out the back.
Craig Hope of the Daily Mail then heard an instance where Gordon shouted “no more” to the Newcastle defenders. Urging them not to easily give the ball away.
Toon winger Anthony Gordon also had a quiet game, the 23-year-old had been on a good streak of goals and assists himself before the game. He was unlucky not to find the net again as he saw an effort cleared off the line in the latter stages.
While not having the best of games, a moment involving Gordon in the first half was noticed by those at St James’ Park.
Anthony Gordon’s message to Newcastle defenders
Gordon has become a vocal presence on the pitch in recent weeks. The Newcastle winger was heard telling Lloyd Kelly to be quicker during the Magpies FA Cup game against Bromley earlier in January.
It would all prove to be in vain as Bournemouth would regain the lead before half-time.Justin Kluivert; son of Patrick, a former Newcastle player scored his and Bournemouth’s third in added time before Milos Kerkez scored their fourth. A true misery compiler.
Sven Botman struggles in Newcastle defeat
After a strong start in his first games since coming back from a long injury layoff. Sven Botman struggled in defence on Saturday.
Botman started the game as Newcastle’s right-sided centre-back like he did in the games against Tottenham, Arsenal and Wolves. The Dutchman only conceded once in those games but struggled to keep up with Bournemouth’s pace.
Botman was taken off for Fabian Schar at half-time. The 25-year-old failed to make a single tackle and only won one of his three ground duels.
You can hand Botman some sympathy as he is technically playing out of position. But it was clear that he was struggling and needed to come off.
Leave a Reply