TF Match Report: Newcastle United 3-0 Wolves (Isak 24', 57', Gordon 74'), 15 January 2025
Ed Cole heads to St James' to see us tame Wolves and move up to 4th...
After a couple of successful forays into domestic competitions and several memorable wins on historically miserly turf, United played their first home league game since Boxing Day - and under an (almost) full moon it was the Wolves of Wolverhampton who ventured north and across the Tyne, to try and breach the walls of Alexander’s Palace.
It was a reversion to the tried and tested for Eddie. Schär’s illness meant the only potential selection dilemma was solved for him, and the starting line up returned to what we can now reliably call our first choice XI. No place on the bench either for Barnes, but other than that (and our seldom-seen club captain and number 9) then we are teetering on full strength injury-wise, at a crucial point in the season.
The visitors started brightly. I couldn’t tell you the first thing about their new manager, but he’s definitely knocked some order into a side that was previously, notoriously chaotic. Joao Gomes and André - their centre midfield pair - provided as stern a test as our triptych has seen in recent weeks, with Gomes especially doing an excellent job of ensuring that Bruno didn’t have a second on the ball. As such, we were regularly forced wide, more often than not down the right, and between them Murphy and Livramento were struggling to click. On the occasions crosses did get delivered, they went directly into their keeper’s hands. Murphy had a decent shot but it was comfortably saved. Gordon often found himself running into a solid golden wall, and Isak started to get frustrated. Even wunderkind Lewis Hall misplaced a few passes and found himself running down aimless alleys.
Wolves had managed to create a few openings without looking truly dangerous, but likewise we’d looked blunt and a little short on imagination. Then, on 20 minutes, during a break in play, Howe called Dan Burn over. The Big Man from Blyth relayed some instructions to various members of the team, and despite being up on level 4 in the Leazes and directly below the relatively raucous Wolves fans, I reckon I could just about make out the message being passed on as ‘give the fucking football to Sandro’.
It was almost as though we’d forgotten we had Europe’s most elegant, patient and precise midfielder in our ranks, and having seen not much of the ball, a tweak in positions saw Tonali much more involved. It also saw Isak drift wide to the left, which is where the first goal arrived from. Having had a chance whistle wide not long before, and having been crowded out in central areas on umpteen occasions, Alexander the Great cut in from the wing as he so loves to do, and forced a shot, despite close company, and the ball ricochet perfectly so as not to give their goalie a chance, nestling in the corner. Whether because of the fortunate nature of the strike or the disjointed nature of our performance, the celebrations felt tinged with relief, from players and crowd alike.
There may have been a time when we would’ve spent an entire 90 minutes huffing and puffing against a well organised outfit like Wolves, but as the world and his wife are now fully aware, we have one of Europe’s great marksmen playing up front for us, and in games such as these, that’s more than enough to make the difference. Both teams upped their games for the last forays of the first half, and despite Wolves creating a couple of half chances, we also played some of our best football, with Sandro millimetres away from doubling our lead with his own deflected effort.
Wolves have their own star man in Matheus Cunha, who appeared off the bench for the second half, following a two game ban for on-field spectacle thievery (you’ll never sing that). The Brazilian looked spritely and created a few openings, but the rest of his team failed to capitalise on the renewed energy he brought, and once our Eritrean-Swedish Starman was able to caress home his second, the remaining half hour of the match could be filed under ‘formality’.
The pass for Isak’s clincher (the 8th consecutive Premier League match he’s scored in, if you’re a fan of pointless stats) that was provided by Bruno, who had finally escaped his shadow Joao Gomes, was the highlight of the evening. In some ways reflecting the match as a whole, our captain flattered to deceive for large periods - hassled, harried and frustrated by the opposition - but when the time came he was still able to offer a moment of sheer beauty, threading the eye of a needle and slicing right through the heart of the visitor’s defence, to find the prolific marksman.
The third of the game came for Gordon, with Isak turning provider. After seeing an initial shot blocked, Isak instead squaring for our willing no.10, who despite his own frustrated evening did not stop running throughout, and as such deserved the relatively straightforward finish he was afforded. There were changes then wrung by both managers and the last 20 minutes saw a flurry of chances, mostly for Wolves, which included a disallowed goal and a genuinely world-class save from our will-he-won’t-he custodian. But that was that.
Another win then, and another step towards cementing ourselves in the upper echelons of this league. For the first time this season St James’ enjoyed the reverberating sound of ‘Is This The Way to Barcelona..?’ Slightly premature? Possibly. There’s a hell of a long way to go, and many of the teams around us have several gears they may yet find. Bournemouth will provide a stern test on Saturday, and we’re not far away from a Etihad - Anfield double-header. But one thing is for sure. We are, at the moment, consistently, undeniably, class.
Ed Cole
edsamuelcole.bsky.social
Very professional performance. Thought we controlled the game in large parts and never really felt in doubt despite Wolves having a few good efforts. Isak and Gordon in the form of their lives really helps. Agreed that Saturday will be tricky.
John - I too thought he must be offside, but no it was a terrific goal.
Joelinton isn't playing particularly well, but maybe he's only outstanding when the team needs that. Maybe Miley is a better option. He's not as strong but never gives the ball away. He looks ready for it.