Newcastle United suffered another setback, falling to a 2-1 defeat against Leeds United at St James’ Park on Tuesday night despite an improved second half performance which could at least offer a glimmer of hope.
Steve Bruce was in desperate need of a response from his side after the dismal performance in the 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday, but the Newcastle manager once again set up the team in a very negative fashion with a back five. That enabled Leeds to take complete control in the first half and, despite shifting to a more attacking system and creating much more after the break, they are now 11 games without a win.
The first half performance showed no signs of improvement, or of the gloves-off type of football that Bruce had insisted the side would now demonstrate. Question marks will be asked over why the Magpies boss waited until the second half, when they were already behind, to enable his side the freedom to express themselves in attack.
However, at least there was a positive reaction after half-time. That saw the Magpies end a goal drought of more than six-and-a-half hours when Miguel Almiron equalised after a good interchange from Jonjo Shelvey and Callum Wilson. However, parity lasted just four minutes, with Newcastle carved open far too easily and allowing Leeds to edge ahead again through Jack Harrison.
The rest of the game was a tale of missed chances for the Magpies, although Allan Saint-Maximin at least showed how he can transform things in attack following his introduction and there were things Newcastle can and must take from the second half performance. However, the overall picture of their form still remains deeply concerning. Bruce has no excuses now – the second half approach must be the one he deploys moving forward.
Here is how we rated the Magpies players in this latest Newcastle defeat…
