Skip to main content

Magpies still down the pecking order after Burnley draw

AN IMPROVED attacking display was not enough for Newcastle to take all three points on Saturday, drawing 0-0 with Burnley at St James’s Park.

The Magpies had 21 attempts on goal as they dominated the game, but somehow never really looked like scoring. They’ve now just one win in 10 games while it’s been six hours since they found the net.

Steve Bruce admits that he saw positives in the game, but says that his side are not safe yet. They sit on 32 points, just five above the bottom three after Watford stunned Liverpool later in the day.

He said: “The clean sheet was huge — when you change shape you always worry the defence will be affected. We’ve had 20 chances, which is far more than before. The number of blocks from Burnley tells you a lot.

“There are still eight or 10 teams [in the relegation fight] and until you get to that magical number [40 points] and you are in the bottom half of the division, you know how hard it is to win a game.

“We’ll take a point, it wasn’t pretty at times but we were a lot better going forward.”

Having won just once in nine league games, Newcastle made five changes and switched formation. But this game wasn’t predicted to be a classic and neither side started with any real potency.

Dwight Gayle started up front in place of Joelinton, who switched to left wing with Allan Saint-Maximin on the bench. He was involved twice early on — first running through on goal, but with heavy touch allowing Nick Pope to get there ahead of him. And the ball later fell to him in the area, but it was blocked away for a corner.

At the other end, Martin Dubravka was forced into a save from Jeff Hendrick, whose back-post chip had looked menacing.

Miguel Almiron could have done better when he made his way into the box, but his shot was tame and failed to test Pope. Just after the half hour mark, Matt Ritchie squandered a great chance, failing to guide a free header in the area goalwards.

With half time approaching, Newcastle went close again. Ritchie’s shot was blocked before a lovely turn by Almiron set Gayle free, but his effort was saved by Pope.

The returning Chris Wood replaced Matej Vydra for Burnley after the break, but it was Jay Rodriguez who should have put the Clarets ahead when he latched on to a poorly placed Danny Rose pass — skying his shot over the bar.

There were fewer than 15 minutes remaining when Saint-Maximin was introduced and the home fans were getting restless.

But he came on at a time when Newcastle were looking to force the issue. Ritchie unleashed a superb strike from distance, which left Pope helpless, but it went inches wide.

The best chance of the second half fell to Ritchie, as it had in the first, in stoppage time. He was fed the ball by Jonjo Shelvey during a swift counter attack, but his shot lacked conviction at the crucial moment. 

It summed up Newcastle’s afternoon. More chances created, but the same poor level of quality when it mattered.

OWNED BY OUR READERS

We're a reader-owned co-operative, which means you can become part of the paper too by buying shares in the People’s Press Printing Society.

 

 

Become a supporter

Fighting fund

You've Raised:£ 13,288
We need:£ 4,712
3 Days remaining
Donate today