Rondon brace enough to top Bournemouth

Newcastle United have defeated Bournemouth to win their second match in a row. The Magpies are back!

The final whistle has blown at St. James’ Park and Newcastle United have claimed their second victory of the season by defeating Bournemouth 2-1. It was a thrilling encounter from the start with plenty of competition in the middle third of the pitch.

Newcastle were hoping that Salomon Rondon would step up his game and he certainly did with two brilliant goals that secured three points for the home side. The underdogs prevailed again and here is how Rafa Benitez’s side took down Bournemouth.

First Half

Newcastle were full of confidence to start this match and this confidence was reflected in their ability to take the lead through a composed tap-in from Salomon Rondon in the sixth minute. The Magpies used that early goal to create more urgency as they continued to attack Bournemouth down the wings, primarily through Kenedy.

Bournemouth did their best to fight back, but they did not create any meaningful chances that threatened Martin Dubravka. The 40th minute generated more enthusiasm among the home supporters as a curling cross from Kenedy was met with a powerful header from Rondon to put Newcastle up 2-0 against the visitors.

Everything looked like smooth sailing for Newcastle until they conceded a goal in stoppage time from Jefferson Lerma’s diving header. That goal forced Benitez to change his halftime talk and think of new tactics for the second half to maintain Newcastle’s lead.

Second Half

The second half, as expected, belonged to Bournemouth. The Cherries forced the Magpies to defend in large numbers as they pressed forward to find an equalizer. Eddie Howe constantly wrote small notes and handed them out to players as he anxiously changed his formation multiple times in an effort to get the best looks at goal.

Newcastle managed to make several clearances and some of their counter-attacks did catch Bournemouth off guard, but the execution was not there as Kenedy, Rondon and Matt Ritchie failed to hit the target with their attempts.

Newcastle were fortunate to see the offside flag go up just a few minutes before the final whistle as Bournemouth tapped in what would have been the equalizing goal. Newcastle then went on to maintain good possession of the ball in stoppage time and secured their second consecutive victory of the 2018-19 campaign.