Newcastle United’s defense vital in win vs. Southampton

Dominance at the back secured a resolute victory on Saturday for Newcastle United.

Running out to a 3-0 victory on Saturday over Southampton, plaudits will rightly be sent the way of Newcastle United’s forward players – most notably Chelsea loanee Kenedy who netted twice for the Toon before being substituted in the 78th minute.

Yet, in a game where Newcastle enjoyed only 37% possession, it was the contribution of Rafa Benitez’s defensive players that laid the foundation for a massive three points.

Firstly, it is important to examine Southampton’s approach in attack. Clearly a possession-based side, Saints manager Mauricio Pellegrino has faced staunch criticism for his side’s lack of goals this season – and by conceding one minute into the match, the onus was on his players to attack.

Southampton totalled 540 passes to Newcastle’s 318, completing twice as many short passes as the Toon also on the afternoon. On the surface, this would suggest a composed display from those in red and white – it was anything but.

Rafa Benitez has shown this season that he is happy to play conservatively and sit deep, as long as his players press the opponent’s players once they have entered Newcastle United’s half. This was evident on Saturday, as for all their dominance in possession, Southampton were limited to only two shots on target from six shots, and half of those came from outside the Newcastle United penalty area.

More important than simply limiting the number of shots faced, however, was the Toon’s focus in forcing Southampton to go wide. Both Mohamed Diame and Jonjo Shelvey had excellent games in the center of midfield, and Southampton had no answer but to spread the ball out to wide areas – ending the game with 24 crosses, but crucially, no goals.

Saturday was perhaps the most polarising of performances from the two back-fours. Whilst Newcastle’s were organised, committed and composed, the Saints back four had a disastrous afternoon underlined by their abject defending in Newcastle’s third goal.

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In truly lackadaisical fashion, Shelvey was afforded what seemed an eternity on the ball at the edge of Southampton’s penalty area. Eventually looking up to find a team-mate, the England midfielder picked out a wide-open Matt Ritchie who had clear sight of goal, and the Newcastle winger made no mistake with his uncontested chance, placing a beautiful strike into the bottom corner of Alex McCarthy’s goal.

Ultimately the icing on the cake, Ritchie’s goal highlighted wonderfully the value of a defense that bends, but doesn’t break. Southampton were allowed control of the ball, but neither Shelvey nor Ritchie would’ve been allowed so much space on the edge of the area if they were in red and white.

Individual performances were also fantastic on Saturday. Starting with the full-backs, DeAndre Yedlin had a solid game and showed great discipline to force the Southampton wide players into crossing the ball, instead of allowing them to run into Newcastle’s penalty area. There were some wayward passes from the US international, but these were inconsequential overall.

Paul Dummett continues to show the form that secured him a new contract on Tyneside. Workmanlike in his approach, Dummett knows his attacking limitations but has improved dramatically in the defensive aspect of his game. Harassing Southampton’s wingers all afternoon, Dummett topped off his display with a handful of committed slide tackles that brought applause from the raucous St. James’ Park crowd.

It would be impossible to praise allowing 24 crosses into your own penalty area unless you had complete faith in your center-backs, and the duo of Florian Lejeune and Jamaal Lascelles had an utterly imperious afternoon.

Lejeune had a tidy game showing both excellent tackling and composure on the ball. Mistakes had previously cost the Frenchman a place in the starting line-up. But if there was pressure on Newcastle to win a vital three points over their direct relegation rivals, Lejeune did not show an ounce of it.

The most notable performance in defense however was club captain Jamal Lascelles. If not for the two goals of Kenedy, or the two assists of Shelvey, Lascelles would probably have earned Man of the Match honours.

https://twitter.com/Lascelles16/status/972554987715858433

In true commandeering fashion, Lascelles won all nine of his aerial battles in defense, so many that he ran four clear of any other player on the pitch. Almost every Newcastle United player has improved defensively under the tutelage of Rafa Benitez, but Lascelles especially looks like an emerging world-class talent, and his contributions have not gone unnoticed by bigger clubs in the Premier League.

A club captain at only 24 years of age, the 52,000 Toon faithful at St. James’ Park on Saturday have most likely become accustomed to such performances from the ex-Forest player.

Consistent during the whole season, his level of play has helped Newcastle reach 13th place. Moreover, the Toon are tied for the second best goal differential among the bottom-ten EPL sides at -10, a vital statistic that could truly make the difference come the end of the season.

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With a three-week break before Newcastle United’s next fixture, Rafa Benitez will have plenty of time to build upon such an excellent defensive performance. Unfortunately it will be tough to replicate, but with a four-day training trip to Spain on the horizon, the Toon have lots to look forward to in the month of March.