Lascelles saves the day as Newcastle salvage a draw vs. Aston Villa

Newcastle United entered today’s match vs. Aston Villa desperately needing three points. While they only come away with one point in the 1-1 draw, it could have been much worse for the Magpies.

Not long after substitute Jacob Murphy smashed a shot off the crossbar, disaster struck Newcastle. Ollie Watkins got on the end of a cross and his header took a big deflection off of Ciaran Clark’s leg. The redirection caught Martin Dubravka on the wrong foot and found the back of the net.

Now facing a potentially devastating loss, Newcastle put their foot on the pedal and they found an equalizer. Deep into stoppage time, a cross from Murphy found Jamaal Lascelles and the captain’s header beat Emiliano Martinez.

It was probably a fair result as neither club was at their best today. Newcastle lacked the sense of urgency of a club playing for their Premier League safety and John McGinn called Aston Villa’s performance “rubbish”.

A late header from Jamaal Lascelles saved a point for Newcastle United.

Joelinton had a very active performance and created some quality moments, but he wasn’t decisive enough in the final third to capitalize with a pass or shot.

Steve Bruce had another tactical clunker in what Newcastle fans will hope is his final in charge of the club. For a large chunk of the match, he played Dwight Gayle on the left wing and Ryan Fraser in the middle of the attack, opposite of where those players typically play.

He also didn’t make any changes until the 79th minute and only brought on an extra attacking player (Andy Carroll) once the club went down a goal.

What’s Next?

Newcastle United will play one of their most crucial matches of the season next week as they take on Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex. The Seagulls play on Sunday and currently reside in 17th, between NUFC and Fulham.