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For Steve Bruce, anything would have been an improvement on his team’s last two performances. The beleaguered Newcastle manager arrived in South London with criticism still ringing in his ears after two consecutive 2-0 losses and walked away with the club’s first victory on this field since 2013 thanks to two goals in the final three minutes of Callum Wilson, his seventh of the season – and Joelinton.
On a night that was marked by a series of missed opportunities at both ends before Newcastle finally broke the deadlock, only the Brazilian’s third Premier League goal since his £ 40 million move from Hoffenheim in 2019 came minutes after having missed a golden opportunity. to give your side the advantage. But after launching Wilson’s goal 60 seconds earlier, a huge deflection when his shot hit Gary Cahill ensured that it was Newcastle night in the end.
“The players have responded at the end of a difficult week; winning late is not a bad trait,” admitted Bruce, before turning his attention to Joelinton. “It doesn’t matter the price or where you come from, sometimes you need time. In Joe’s case, the price tag and the number 9 jersey meant that he was in trouble at times. But the boy wants to do well and now hopefully we’ll see the best of him. “
Given that the last seven games between these two teams had only produced seven goals, the television audience watching at home was probably not expecting much entertainment on Friday night. Newcastle came into the game with fewer shots than any other team in the division, so Wilson’s return from injury at least offered Bruce a focal point for his attack, even if Allan Saint-Maximin’s creativity was lacking due to a muscle. injury.
Palace has now lost 15 of their last 17 Premier League matches without Wilfried Zaha, whose partner gave birth to a son on Friday as the Ivory Coast international remains isolated after his positive Covid test, and his talisman was greatly missed. here despite creating several decent ones. possibilities.
Bruce had admitted that Newcastle needed to improve considerably after the losses to Chelsea and Southampton and the visitors had made four shots in the 20th minute to push Palace into their own half, though none that really worried Vicente Guaita.
His opponents finally recorded a first shot of the match shortly after, when Karl Darlow matched Eberechi Eze’s effort from about where he scored his first Premier League goal from a direct free kick against Leeds. The Newcastle keeper has made more saves than anyone in the league this season as he continues to replace Martin Dubravka and Bruce may find it difficult to reinstall the Slovakian given Darlow’s form. A one-handed reaction stop on his first post to deny Jeffrey Schlupp’s lightning bolt shot was truly outstanding and, to his coach’s relief, he kept his wing level.
Palace started the second half on the front foot and should have gone to the front when Cheikhou Kouyaté got up to find a corner kick, but was only able to get his header over the crossbar. However, despite their usual defensive prowess, Roy Hodgson’s team has only managed a clean sheet this season and Newcastle could have broken the deadlock much earlier had Joelinton shown more awareness after joining Jeff Hendrick.
Wilson was the next to miss his chance after finding a cross from Javier Manquillo from the right flank before a header from substitute Christian Benteke didn’t bother Darlow on what seemed like a running theme.
However, if those attempts were bad, Joelinton still had something worse up his sleeve. Substitute center Matt Ritchie begged for a head pass to Guaita, but the Brazilian made only the slightest contact with the ball and immediately fell to his knees in shame. Benteke’s header from a Patrick Van Aanholt cross with 10 minutes to go finally managed to force Darlow to another save. It was Palace who seemed most likely to be victorious in death, as Michy Batshauyi was inches from turning on Van Aanholt’s cross, but Wilson and Joelinton had other ideas. “All losses hurt and this one did it because we didn’t play well,” Hodgson admitted.
