Before a ball was kicked this weekend, very few fans and pundits alike would have predicted that a draw against relegation-battling Birmingham would be enough to see Newcastle extend their lead at the top of the table, but that’s exactly how it panned out.
Third placed Huddersfield were hammered by Bristol City on Friday whilst Brighton lost to Leeds on Saturday evening, meaning Rafa Benitez’s side didn’t suffer too much damage by failing to win at St Andrews.
Newcastle were without a few regular starters as Ciaran Clark missed out due to injury , whilst Dwight Gayle and Jonjo Shelvey started on the bench.
In the end, it was just ‘one of those days’ as a goal was harshly ruled out before Tomasz Kuszczak made a great save from a Daryl Murphy effort.
Here’s how I rated the Magpies after the game:
Karl Darlow - 6
Hardly had a save to make.
Vurnon Anita - 6
Never looked threatened in defence but didn’t offer too much going forward.
Jamaal Lascelles - 6
Didn’t have a lot to do but dealt with what he had to with relative ease.
Grant Hanley - 6
Deputised for Clark pretty well, was largely untroubled.
Paul Dummett - 7
Saw a lot of the ball and kept things ticking over nicely. Defended well too.
Mohamed Diame - 5
Played in a deeper role and didn’t look very comfortable.
Jack Colback - 7
It was a fierce battle at times and Jack Colback won most of his individual match ups.
Matt Ritchie - 7
Unlucky to see his goal ruled out. Was Newcastle’s most threatening player.
Yoan Gouffran - 5
A below par performance from Gouffran. Was no surprise to see him taken off.
Ayoze Perez - 5
Bar one decent first half effort, he was relatively anonymous.
Daryl Murphy - 6
Nearly won the game but was denied by a wonderful save.