Two penalties from Preston North End sink Newcastle United

Newcastle United tasted defeat for the second time this summer as Preston North End scored twice from the penalty spot to win 2-1.

Steve Bruce made his coaching debut with Newcastle United this afternoon, but his Magpies were defeated by Preston North End by a score of 2-1. The club’s record signing, Joelinton, made his debut off the bench in the second half. Newcastle United deployed the following starting lineup against Preston North End: Freddie Woodman, Javier Manquillo, Fabian Schar, Federico Fernandez, Paul Dummett, Matt Ritchie, Isaac Hayden, Jonjo Shelvey, Matthew Longstaff, Rolando Aarons and Yoshinori Muto.

First Half

The match got off to a slow start as it took 25 minutes for either side to get their first shot on target, which came from Jonjo Shelvey’s effort that forced a corner kick. The Magpies saw most of the ball and they did well to string together several passes. Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden were the most active players in terms of creating chances – two each – and Hayden actually came close to scoring in the 26th minute, but his effort was fired into the side netting.

Preston North End seemed to cave under pressure after 30 minutes as all 11 players were behind the ball at this point. Javier Manquillo did well to find Rolando Aarons multiple times and the Jamaican kept looking to feed Yoshinori Muto with some through-balls. All the momentum was with Newcastle United. Although the Toon began looking good offensively, a lack of discipline was also on display as Matthew Longstaff and Matt Ritchie both picked up bookings for ill-timed tackles.

Newcastle Untied finally took the lead after 39 minutes through Jonjo Shelvey who fired a direct free kick from 30 yards out straight down the middle. Shelvey did well to get his shot on target and the power behind his strike led to a bobble from Declan Rudd. Muto should have extended the Magpies’ lead, but he was too slow in getting the ball off his foot for a strike. Rudd was quick to snatch the ball away from the Japanese striker. Overall, Newcastle United looked good in the first half and they went into the locker room with the deserved lead.

Second Half

Newcastle United made nine changes at halftime as the following players came on: Jamie Sterry,  Jamaal Lascelles, Ciaran Clark, Sean Longstaff, Ki Sung-yueng, Jack Colback, Jacob Murphy, Miguel Almirón and Joelinton. The club’s record signing, Joelinton, was on the pitch for 20 seconds and he already won a penalty. Almiron stepped up to the spot, but his weak effort was saved by Rudd.

14 minutes after Almiron missed a penalty for the Magpies, Preston North End scored from a penalty of their own to make it 1-1. Sterry’s accidental handball in the box caught the attention of the referee who pointed to the spot.

Joelinton has looked good since coming on. The Brazilian striker earned a penalty early on, made a few good turns away from defenders and played some one-two football with both Almiron and Murphy on a few occasions. However, the new boy from Hoffenheim committed a tackle in the opposing box and gifted Preston North End with another penalty in the 70th minute. Paul Gallagher scored his second goal from the spot to give the home side a 2-1 lead.

Moments later, Newcastle United should have made it 2-2, but Jack Colback missed a golden opportunity. Sean Longstaff found Colback with a quick pass and all Colback had to do was chip the keeper as he ran off the line, but failed to do so. Two minutes later, Joelinton scored a goal for the Toon, but the goal was disallowed because the referee did not like where Murphy took the free kick from.

Preston North End looked more lively in the second half while Newcastle United took their foot off the gas pedal. It is clear the Newcastle United have a lot of work to do before their next friendly, but the outcome could have been different had Almiron scored to make it 2-0 for the Toon.

What’s Next?

Newcastle United will pack their bags from here and head over to Scotland for a friendly match against Hibernian on Tuesday. Hibernian finished last season in 5th place, one spot shy of securing a Europa League bid. Newcastle United will be heavy favorites in this match. The last time Newcastle United played in Scotland was in July of 2017 for a friendly against Hearts, which ended in a 2-1 victory for the Toon.