10-man Newcastle United stunned at the death by Wolves

Playing down a man for most of the second half, Newcastle United gave up a late winner to Wolves, losing 2-1 at home.

Newcastle United nearly overcame an early deficit and a red card, but Wolverhampton scored the match-winner in the final minutes of stoppage time to take a 2-1 victory at St. James’ Park.

The Lineup

Rafa Benitez lined up the Magpies in a 3-5-1-1. Matt Ritchie returned from suspension and played opposite DeAndre Yedlin in a wing-back type role. Christian Atsu remained in the starting midfield after a positive performance against Everton. Jonjo Shelvey was not in the squad, reportedly due to an injury.

The First Half

Almost immediately after the opening whistle, Newcastle United had a quality chance. Mohamed Diame found Salomon Rondon in the middle of the area and the Venezuelan chested the ball down and fired a shot, but it went directly at the goalkeeper.

Despite the early pressure from the hosts, it would be Wolves that scored first. Helder Costa delivered a perfect cross and Jota was given too much space due to a miscommunication between Jamaal Lascelles and DeAndre Yedlin. The attacking midfielder controlled the ball and beat Martin Dubravka at close-range.

Newcastle United would not trail for long. Rondon took a free kick and nearly found the back of the net after a deflection off of the crossbar. Somehow, the shot stayed out and the rebound attempts were cleared away but only as far as Rondon. The striker curled in a cross and Ayoze Perez buried a 23rd-minute header.

Each side enjoyed spells of possession and dangerous attacking play, but neither could find a go-ahead goal before the break. Newcastle United had advantages in shots, possession, and passing accuracy after the first 45 minutes. Ki was booked for a tackle on Adama Traore, whose pace gave Newcastle United fits.

The Second Half

Bad news for the Magpies coming out of halftime as Federico Fernandez needed to be subbed off due to a calf injury. He was replaced by Javier Manquillo. The move pushed Yedlin into the central defense.

Wolves carried most of the possession in the first ten minutes of the second half. Things got worse for Newcastle in the 57th minute when Yedlin was sent off. He made a poor first touch and to prevent a scoring chance, he grabbed a hold of Jota and took him down just outside the area.

Despite being down a man, Newcastle did not bunker down and they continued to attack. Christian Atsu made some dangerous maneuvers down the left flank.

After the Toon failed to convert on a corner kick, Wolverhampton nearly took the advantage. On a blistering counter-attack, Raul Jimenez banged a shot off the crossbar, eerily similar to Rondon’s free kick in the first half. Another chance on the break for Wolves ended with Dubravka turning away a chance.

There was a major missed call in favor of Wolves. Willy Boly blasted Ayoze with an elbow as they met in the air. The Spaniard was bloodied and needed to come off for medical attention. He vented his frustrations after the match for the missed call.

In the 85th minute, Joselu came on to replace Rondon, who received a well-deserved round of applause from the Toon Army. Minutes later, Rafa swapped Kenedy on for Atsu. It was another positive performance from the Ghanian winger.

After playing most of the second half with a man advantage, Wolves found a winner deep in stoppage time. Jota had a shot deflected away by Dubravka, Matt Doherty headed the ball home into an empty net.

It was a frustrating result for Newcastle United, as they battled well without Yedlin. Now, after winning three straight in November, the club is winless in three December matches. They will take on Huddersfield Town on the road next weekend.