Matt Ritchie’s late goal from the penalty spot led to a 1-1 draw between Newcastle United and Blackburn at St. James’ Park.
Newcastle United and Blackburn finished on level terms yesterday in what was a competitive match and an eventful second half with several chances for both teams. Blackburn came to Tyneside looking for a victory by deploying their regular starters while Newcastle made eight changes to their lineup to give young players an opportunity.
As a result, the two teams drew and will have to meet again soon at Ewood Park for the second leg of this third round FA Cup fixture. It was a close game and here are some things we learned from Newcastle’s performance last night.
Injury Boost from Lejeune
While some supporters were not happy with the overall team selection, one selection that thrilled everyone on Tyneside was Florian Lejeune. After suffering a major knee injury and undergoing surgery, Lejeune returned months before the original timetable and he looked good.
The Frenchman did not shy away from aggressive duels to keep his knee safe, on the contrary, he did his best to try and bully the tough duo of Bradley Dack and Danny Graham. Lejeune was able to make some key interceptions and he did well to defend overlapping runs when his teammates could not recover in time.
Youngsters Not Ready for EPL
Rafa Benitez made it clear that his primary focus is to avoid relegation and as a result he put in a few youngsters. Aside from Sean Longstaff who put in a decent performance despite not seeing much of the ball, the other players on the reserve squad are not cut out for playing in the Top Flight with Newcastle.
This was seen by how much they struggled against a mid-table Championship side yesterday, especially Jamie Sterry who was out-muscled far too easily by Dack when he scored his header in the 56th minute.
Wasted Chances
Newcastle should win an award for this at the end of the season as they have mastered the art of wasting golden opportunities that other teams would properly utilize and score. Newcastle should have had sealed the deal on multiple occasions in this match, but poor execution doomed every chance.
Two attempts stick out more than others: Joselu’s slow set up and weak strike that was deflected in the 27th minute and Jacob Murphy’s rocket that flew into the stands when he was wide open in the 47th minute. Newcastle need to bury those type of chances if they want to win games.