In a massive game at the bottom for Newcastle United, the Mags finally came good when it mattered as they romped to a 3-0 victory over the already safe Swansea City. Goals from Jamaal Lascelles, Moussa Sissoko, and Andros Townsend ensured that Newcastle closed the gap on Norwich City after Sunderland’s victory over the Canaries in the early kickoff. The table makes for better reading now, as Newcastle move to 28 points, Sunderland 30 and Norwich 31 respectively. Crucially, we now have a game in hand on Norwich- Manchester City on Tuesday night at St James’ Park.
Rafa Benitez chose to shake things up after the disastrous display on the South Coast. He made three changes to the side that started at St Mary’s; out went Aleksandar Mitrovic, Jonjo Shelvey, Ayoze Perez and Daryl Janmaat, being replaced by Jack Colback, Papiss Cisse Cheik Tiote, and Jamaal Lascelles. Some may have been surprised by Rafa’s gamble but it was one that seemed to pay off. Cheik Tiote alongside Jack Colback gave us more physicality in the midfield engine room as Swansea struggled to mount any sustained pressure on Karl Darlow’s goal. Yes, distribution and creativity may not have been so plentiful, but Tiote and Colback worked their socks off breaking down Swansea’s attacking forays whilst protecting the back four. Vurnon Anita played right back after Daryl Janmaat came off worse in a rather unfortunate scrap with the Southampton dressing room wall. But boy did the little Dutchman do well, doing the basics, unlike the sometimes cavalier Janmaat.
Newcastle started sluggishly whilst Swansea had the majority of the ball in the early stages. But the man who’d put himself on the line with some brutal criticism after the Southampton showing, headed home from Townsend’s corner to send St James’ into jubilation. Just 5 minutes before the interval, the goal couldn’t have come at a better time. The 48,000 strong crowd were settled by Lascelles’ goal but soon after half time they grew nervy as Swansea pressed for the equaliser. Ashley Williams and Bafetimbi Gomis wasted good openings. Neither able to test Karl Darlow from close range. Perez and Shelvey came on as we pushed up in defence and became the side looking most likely to score next. The Serb cult hero Aleksandar Mitrovic was introduced on 80 minutes for Papiss Cisse. And it was his introduction that brought the second goal. Again from a corner, the Swans were unable to clear their lines. Moussa pounced and lashed the ball beyond Fabianski for his first goal of the season. Townsend sealed the deal with a calm finish from Mitrovic’s powerful run as we came through home and dry. A vital win ensuring that Rafa could celebrate his birthday in style.
Andros kept up his impressive personal form. That’s now a pair of goals and assists in the last few games for the speedy winger.
There’s no time to rest on our laurels in the relegation dogfight. Our rearranged fixture sees City come to St James’ on Tuesday night. A win against the Sky Blues would see us climb above Sunderland and most likely Norwich. Something easier said than done. The Mancs were in ominous form at Chelsea as Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick. It will be interesting to see if Rafa makes any personnel changes for Tuesday night but whoever he picks it feels like this is the moment if we want to avoid the drop. For me Mitrovic must start, the Serb caused problems in his short appearance against Swansea and gives us more of a focal point than the sluggish Cisse. A performance in keeping with Saturday and we’ve got a sporting chance. You can see all the action on Sky Sports from 7:00pm on Tuesday.
