Newcastle 1-0 Manchester United
by Roger Domeneghetti
at St James' Park

“LET’S give it to them, we never surrender,” said the banner quoting Eddie Howe unveiled by the Newcastle fans before kick-off on Saturday.

His players lived up to his mantra. In the end, they just wanted it more. At least a yard sharper, first to every ball, more disciplined, playing like a cohesive unit. Manchester United, by comparison, looked insipid, bereft of ideas, lost.

It’s hard to believe that Howe’s squad is down to the bare bones. He named the same team as he did against PSG midweek; he had little choice.

It should be noted, those that starting line-up played the whole game in the French capital. Yet here they were again, running through walls for their manager, feeding off the crowd, dominating from the off.

It was — somehow — goalless at half-time. The visitors had had two shots, Newcastle had 14. They should have been out of sight. Kieran Trippier had come the closest with a free kick that hit the underside of the crossbar.

When the inevitable breakthrough came, 10 minutes into the second half, he was the provider. Manchester United lost the ball in midfield, Bruno Guimaraes fed Trippier who flashed the ball across goal. It was beyond Miguel Almiron’s outstretched leg but Anthony Gordon, the epitome of Newcastle’s drive and determination, was on hand to smash home at the far post.

It was all rather simple. It was also no less than Newcastle deserved.

United became desperate as they searched for an equaliser, throwing Harry Maguire up front and launching high balls as Newcastle dropped deeper to protect their lead. It nearly worked when they had the ball in the back of the net in the 89th minute, but despite a very late flag from the assistant referee, it was rightly disallowed for offside against the defender-cum-forward.

“We had to see the game out, and credit for the team for that,” said Howe. “That’s one of our best performances this season.  We were excellent both on and off the ball.”

Victory was tempered by yet another injury, Nick Pope having to go off after dislocated his left shoulder after a seemingly innocuous dive.

However, the three points helped Newcastle inch above Spurs into fifth place on goals difference. United, slumped to seventh.

St James’ Park has become the proverbial fortress. Next up, AC Milan in a must-win game on Wednesday.