Only one team united as Magpies add to ten Hag woe
Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon celebrates after opening the scoring 10 minutes into the second half in their Premier League clash with Manchester United at St James’ Park. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA
IN the battle of the Uniteds, only one team lived up to the name.
Only one team didn't feel sorry for itself after a physically and emotionally draining midweek experience in Europe.
On both counts, it wasn't the team - use that word loosely - in red and white.
Only one goal separated the sides, and that was the true quandary of a non-contest that in every aspect other than the scoreline was an utter mis-match.
The comedy gifs must already be doing the rounds of the increasingly exasperated look on the face of Harry Maguire, one of the few Manchester United players to emerge with his reputation just about intact, at what was unfolding in front of him.
Or, more accurately, at what was collapsing around him.
With so many Premier League players clearly far removed from the realities of real life, perhaps Erik ten Hak's disgruntled troops were still sulking at having to eschew the comforts of a 20-minute private jet trip to rough it in a luxury coach after their flight to the North-East was cancelled due to inclement weather.
Whatever the reason, this was a shambles of a display lacking even in the basics of effort, desire, commitment and accountability. It deserved to have the squad shoved in the back of a rickety Transit van for the return journey over the snowy Pennines to reflect on this abject surrender.
With six defeats to accompany eight victories from their opening 14 games, if you can't win then don't lose it is clearly an adage that hasn't permeated through to the Manchester United dressing room.
That none of their three-point hauls so far this season have come against teams higher than 10th suggests they remain little more than flat track bullies, and Newcastle had few problems in sealing a third consecutive victory in this fixture for the first time since 1922.
Forget 101 years, this was a 90 minutes Manchester United should consign to room 101.
Ten Hag played down a first-half altercation with Anthony Martial, who rather than anything remotely constructive, put most of his efforts into angrily gesticulating in response to criticism from the head coach about his woeful tracking-back which allowed Fabian Schar the freedom of St James' Park with alarming regularity.
Martial and Marcus Rashford were fortunate to be afforded as long as they were on the pitch before their petulant partnership was hooked after an hour of over-indulged indifference.
"The boys are disappointed," Maguire admitted, fronting up off the pitch as well as on it, an approach many of his anonymous team-mates could well learn from. The England defender, far more of a leader than that self-obsessed caricature of a captain Bruno Fernandes will ever be, added: "I don't think we played to our level. It's been a tough week with three away games in six days but we don't use that as an excuse.
"We didn't play well enough, especially in the first half and in the end, you've got to say that Newcastle deserved it. We need to play with more intensity and win more duels."
Wastefulness in front of goal from Alexander Isak and Jamaal Lascelles, Miguel Almiron's seeming inability to shoot with his right foot and sheer bad luck when Kieran Tripper's stunning 25-yard free-kick came down off the underside of the bar all combined to keep the visitors in it until midway through the second-half.
Anthony Gordon's sixth goal in 12 league starts, swept home at the far post past a snoozing Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Trippier's low cross, ensured justice was done, even if it wasn't accompanied by the significant boost to the hosts' goal difference it should have.
Newcastle will wait anxiously to discover the length of absence facing Nick Pope after the goalkeeper was withdrawn late on with a dislocated shoulder following an awkward fall.
Martin Dubravka's hasty introduction heralded a rare moment of activity on the home bench, shortly before Matt Ritchie became the first outfield player to be introduced from in the last two matches, and that was in in the seventh minute of stoppage-time. Newcastle's current injury predicament means their starting XI has, out of necessity, to also be their finishing XI.
"The way the week's gone, it's a massive win," Gordon reflected, referencing the heart-breaking manner in which Eddie Howe's side were pegged-back in the Champions League by Paris St Germain.
Gordon, the former Everton midfielder who is gearing himself up for a hostile reception on his latest return to Goodison Park on Thursday, added: "My main focus is to be someone the manager can trust and to be one of the first names on the team sheet.
"The same 11 players have been on and we've not just been playing 90 minutes, the midweek game was eight minutes added time and on Saturday it was nine. It's not easy, we're covered in kicks and bruises but the team-spirit here is unmatched and that's what's dragging us through games."
Pope 8 (Dubravka 86, 6); Trippier 8, Lascelles 7, Schar 8, Livramento 8; Miley 7, Guimaraes 7, Joelinton 8; Almiron 7, Isak 7, Gordon 9 (Ritchie 90, 6). Booked: Joelinton.
Onana 5; Wan-Bissaka 3 (Reguilon 80, 4), Maguire 5, Shaw 5, Dalot 5; McTominay 4, Mainoo 4 (Amrabat 80, 4); Rashford 3 (Antony 61, 3) Fernandes 3, Garnacho 3; Martial 3 (Hojlund 61,3). Booked: Maguire, Antony.
Robert Jones
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
