Newcastle United were on track to claim their third victory of the season, but a poor second half performance opened the door for Wolverhampton and led to more dropped points at home.
Newcastle United had this match circled on their calendar as a match they could win, but they ended up settling for a frustrating draw. In the first half, Newcastle United played with urgency, created nine scoring opportunities and took the lead thanks to a powerful header from team captain Jamaal Lascelles. The second half consisted of a reversal in roles.
Wolverhampton took control of the possession, took more chances when they pushed forward and got the equalizer they were searching for in the 73rd minute through Jonny Castro. Some fans might see this as a positive result against a team that is currently competing in the Europa League, but others, such as myself, view this match as a wasted opportunity to claim three points and climb the table before a road trip to London. So, with that being said, let’s take a look at the key mistakes the Magpies made yesterday.
Late Substitutions
The three substitutions that Steve Bruce decided to make were spot on, but they came way too late. Knowing that Sean Longstaff was on a yellow card, why wait until after he picked up a red card (82′) to replace him with Jonjo Shelvey? In addition, the Magpies’ momentum and innovation from the first half was clearly gone and the squad looked flat offensively.
As a result, why not switch things up with some fresh legs between the 60′ and 65′ minute mark? Christian Atsu and Dwight Gayle have the pace to cause problems for most defenders, but we only saw them in action for five minutes in stoppage time. For a manager with as much experience as Bruce has, I must say that I am quite shocked with his decision to wait so late to make these necessary changes.
Dubravka… Not Again
A few minutes before conceding the goal, Martin Dubravka made a brilliant save to keep Diogo Jota’s strike out of the net and I was going to tweet something along the lines of “Dubravka is showing us that he deserves his new six-year deal,” but I held off seeing that Wolves kept attacking. Well, a couple minutes later the score was 1-1 because Dubravka decided to come out when he should have stayed put, failed to punch the ball away properly and gifted Wolves with an open net.
I have no idea what it is with Dubravka lately, but his decision-making has been off in the last few matches. I am no keeper, but my advice to Dubravka going forward is to only come out if you are certain that you can get to the ball. Otherwise, let your defenders handle the situation. Had Dubravka let the ball go, DeAndre Yedlin was in place to head the ball out of danger.
No Pressure in the Second Half
Wolverhampton struggled to create meaningful chances in the first half because Newcastle United were quick to close gaps and won the ball back in the middle of the park. This is also a major reason why the home side managed to create nine chances in the first half. The final 45 minutes was a different story, though. Wolverhampton had all day to stay on the ball and brought it up the pitch with ease.
The Magpies’ back-line avoided confrontation and this enabled Wolves to attack with three or four players every time they broke into the final third. Fortunately, the visitors missed the target more than they would have liked, but Newcastle United need to close in on players as soon as they receive the ball, especially out on the wing. Next weekend’s opponent, West Ham, have even more quality out wide, so this is an issue that Bruce needs to work on resolving in training this week.