da bet sport： For all the concerning groans and moans at St. James’ Park this season, Newcastle’s game-plan has proved far more effective on the road. Tellingly, Newcastle are tenth in the Premier League’s away table, but marooned in the relegation zone for the home equivalent.
da realbet： Less pressure to control the game and consistently produce in the final third has allowed Rafa Benitez’s side to remain organised and hit teams on the counter-attack – at times this season, the same kind of performances at St. James’ Park have drawn apathy and sometimes even anger from the onlooking Toon Army.
Yesterday’s 1-0 win over Stoke City provided a classic example of how effective this Newcastle side can be when the dynamics of the match are better suited to their counter-attacking style, and when there isn’t the same pressure to entertain.
After effectively throwing the Potters’ clash with Chelsea last Saturday, the onus was on Mark Hughes’ side to take all three points at home team a side one point and one place lower than them in the table. Accordingly, Newcastle could sit back and wait for their chances rather than being expected to take the game to the opposition.
Eventually, a gilt-edged chance came their way as Ayoze Perez latched onto a Jacob Murphy cross to stab home from close range and net a 73rd-minute winner. But the real hero behind a performance that combined defensive resilience with dynamic counter-attacking was centre-half and captain Jamaal Lascelles. An absolute rock at at the back, the 24-year-old completed the most clearances of any player on the pitch, while winning seven aerial duels, completing two tackles, two interceptions and one block.
Although Stoke didn’t offer much going forward, bizarrely even taking off their most creative player in Xherdan Shaqiri after just a hour, it’s unlikely Newcastle would have pulled off the result without Lascelles’ influence at the heart of defence. All five of the Magpies’ clean sheets so far this season have come with the Englishman present, while they’re yet to concede more than two goals in a Premier League game with him in the starting line-up.
Perhaps most tellingly of all, Newcastle haven’t actually won a top flight game without the 6 foot 2 centre-back involved this season, compared to six victories from the 17 games in which he’s featured.