Newcastle United host Wolves in matchday 32 of the premier league, playing in front of their own packed St. James’ Park, Eddie Howe’s squad played nervously following poor results in their last three games which always lost and opened the door to relegation fears again. Eddie Howe made two changes to his side which lost 5-1 to Tottenham Hotspur last time out, Howe started Emil Krafth and Bruno Guimaraes in place of Javier Manquillo and Joe Willock, who are still recovering from a knee problem.
The Magpies’ front line is still occupied by Chris Wood who leads the line and is flanked by Ryan Fraser and Allan Saint-Maximin in a 4-3-3 formation. So far Howe is still confused with Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson who are still on the injury list. The Tyneside crowd finally cheered for Matt Targett et al’s hard struggle to snatch a well-deserved 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers who also played very well. This result puts The Geordies slightly apart from the tension of the shadow of relegation following negative results in the last three matches.
Chris Wood’s penalty which was his first goal on Tyneside completed a tense game on Tyneside. And that only goal was more than enough to bring the Magpies to collect 34 points from 31 matches and stay in 14th place in the standings. It was a game night where Newcastle had to work really hard to get and keep the three points they won with a fight until the final whistle.
Allan Saint-Maximin gave the hosts hope when he fired a try in the opening 60 seconds but his effort hit Wolves defender Conor Coady. And seconds later Ryan Fraser crossed from the right but goalkeeper Jose Sa deftly clipped the former Aberdeen winger’s cross. The Magpies were hit hard when they lost Ryan Fraser in the 12th minute when he was forced off with a knee injury. This will add to the long list of injured core players. The Scotland international was replaced by Miguel Almiron.
Tyneside immediately rumbled on a quick counter-attack the ball was picked up by Miguel Almiron who with a heeled pass gave Bruno Guimaraes the ball who immediately sent a cross that bounced off a defender and found Chris Wood who fell in the penalty area by sticking out Wood’s foot. the ball into the goal. As Wood and the Newcastle players celebrated their goal, Wanderers coach Bruno Lage looked like he was about to explode, and luckily for the visitors a VAR review revealed that Guimaraes had been caught slightly offside when he received the ball from Almiron, and the goal was ruled out by referee Peter Bankes.
Presumably Wolves played a little cautiously in anticipation of the counter-attack, Wolves slowed the tempo at every opportunity, they managed to frustrate the hosts and the crowd at St James’ Park into restlessness. This keeps the two goalkeepers less busy at the back, while the ball rolls more in midfield with sideways and back passes. The first half ended without any goals being scored.
After the break in the first half the visitors made a change, they started to play an attacking game that was a little more open and this made the arena that was originally boisterous with the cheers of the home crowd almost silent. At least Bruno Lage’s men started to make some expeditions outside of their own area, with Hwang Hee-Chang and Joao Moutinho getting up a bit more and piercing more, even sporadically starting to venture into the Newcastle penalty box.
A Magpies chance from a free-kick, Bruno Guimaraes steered the ball into the box with Daniel Burn advancing for a set-piece. It’s a shame Dan Burn’s shot went straight at goalkeeper Jose Sa. Wolves then reacted with a chance in the 55th minute when Hwang Hee-Chan found a free ball down the left and cut inside to try to get past Emil Krafth but the Sweden defender kept it out.
Fabian Schar received a yellow card a minute later when he brought down Fabio Silva. Not long ago Saint-Maximin got a chance from an attack on the right side he fired a shot which unfortunately still flew over the bar. Bruno Guimaraes’ cross in the 64th minute from the right found Saint-Maximin at the back post but again Saint-Maximin’s finish was not perfect, the ball bounced high over the bar again. Moments later, Saint-Maximin crossed for Chris Wood but Wood couldn’t finish.
Drama then ensued in the 72nd minute, when Joelinton sent a through pass to Chris Wood who was free in the box with goalkeeper Jose Sa tried to go out to block which saw Wood tumble onto the grass. Referee Peter Bankes also carried out a lengthy VAR check for possible offside and a foul by Jose Sa, the result of which the referee decided that it was a penalty which was welcomed by the Tyneside public.
Chris Wood himself took the penalty execution. After a long wait for a goal, Wood calmly and confidently stepped in to fire the ball he aimed to the right of the net while Jose Sa pounced in the wrong direction. A moment that instantly made St James’ Park rumble, there was immense relief, both for Wood, who scored his first goal at home, and for the fans who watched in awe throughout the game from the stands. After the goal, the tempo of the game increased. Two minutes later Bruno Guimaraes received the ball from Saint-Maximin, unfortunately his effort could still be deflected and wide. The visitors then reacted through Fabio Silva who tapped in Fernando Marcal’s cross but unfortunately could only go wide despite beating Daniel Burn in the air in the 79th minute.
Fabio Silva was the threat again a minute later when he found the ball in the penalty area, with a slight twist and shot on goal, lucky for hosts Martin Dubravka to react brilliantly to parry a hard and fast ball that slid into the narrow right side of the net and only produced a corner for Wolves. Wolves were still looking for an equaliser, with six minutes remaining they opened the door with a try from Jonny Castro, but his shot went straight to Martin Dubravka.
Bruno Guimaraes was pulled off and replaced by Sean Longstaff with minutes remaining and the Brazilian star was applauded by the Tyneside crowd. It was a big round of applause for the £33.5m player after his impressive display with his quality on the ball helped Newcastle through a tough and tense game. A 1-0 win was enough to throw players and fans into a hug as referee Peter Bankes blew the final whistle, with the three points added to at least seven games remaining they have a better chance of avoiding relegation.
ASL
