Newcastle and Watford split the points at St. James’ Park

Newcastle United and Watford finish on level terms at St. James’ Park.

Watford came into this game as the most desperate team in the Premier League and they managed to steal a point on the road. Newcastle United deserved more from this game, but failed to find the back of the net for the winning goal.

First Half

Watford got off to a flying start after taking the lead through Will Hughes in the second minute of the game. Watford enjoyed plenty of space 30 yards away from the Magpies’ goal and a shot from distance was initially blocked, but it deflected the ball backwards straight to Hughes, who scored with ease from close range in an empty penalty area.

Newcastle United should have equalized two minutes later when a cross from Christian Atsu was missed by a defender and landed perfectly for Miguel Almiron, but Ben Forster came off his line and took the ball away from Almiron’s feet.

The game opened up after the fifth minute as both teams took the ball end to end, but no meaningful chances were created. After 25 minutes, Newcastle United enjoyed 52% of the possession compared to Watford’s 48% and this shows just how back and forth this game was.

Newcastle United were robbed of a penalty in the 34th minute when Isaac Hayden was brought down in the box, but the call was not given. There was plenty of contact, but not enough for VAR to overturn the no-call.

Newcastle United finally got the equalizer they were looking for in the 41st minute when Fabian Schar got on the end of a loose ball near the penalty spot. There wasn’t much power behind his strike, but the shot got past Foster despite the keeper getting a hand on the ball.

Overall, it was an even game with 11 total chances in the first half and the possession was essentially 50-50. Newcastle United were more impressive on the ball, but Watford did enough to disrupt multiple plays that could have led to goals.

Second Half

The opening five minutes of the second half belonged to Newcastle United. The home side applied pressure, maintained most of the possession, had a shot on target and earned a free kick near the box. Watford looked flat and spent most of their time chasing the ball in their own half.

The first dangerous chance of the second half didn’t come until the 54th minute when Schar almost claimed his second goal of the game. A brilliant cross from Sean Longstaff curled into the box, but Schar’s header went just wide of the mark.

Hayden almost gave the Magpies’ the lead in the 58th minute with a powerful strike from distance that was aimed for the top corner, but Foster stepped up to make a magnificent save that sent the ball over the bar. Newcastle United had another good look at goal from distance in the 62nd minute, but Longstaff’s grounded shot didn’t trouble Foster.

Joelinton tried dribbling around defenders in the box in the 64th minute and he went down in the process, however, claims for a penalty were ignored by the referee, and rightfully so as the Brazilian tripped himself. The Magpies were lively in attack in the opening 20 minutes as they created seven chances, with three of them being on target.

The game slowed down until the 78th minute when Isaac Success, who came on as a substitute, forced a quick reaction save out of Dubravka with a dangerous header. Poor marking enabled Success to run into the middle untouched. Newcastle United almost took the lead in the 82nd minute in scrappy fashion as multiple players kept taking swipes at the ball trying to force it over the line, but Foster got to it in the end.

Watford came close to scoring in the 86th minute when Success set Roberto Pereyra up and he stung Dubravka’s gloves, but only earned a corner kick. Both teams continued to attack in the final minutes of the game, but it all ended 1-1 on Tyneside.

What’s Next?

Up next for the Magpies is a much-needed international break that will help several players properly recover from a wide range of injuries and knocks that were picked up in the first month of the season. When league action kicks back up, Newcastle United will travel to Anfield on September 14th to face Liverpool.