coming home newcastle 
26-04-2024 11:57
26-04-2024 11:57
Crystal Palace 2-0 Newcastle — Match Report: Back to the drawing board
Newcastle United’s pursuit of European competition was dealt a severe blow as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, April 24, in another crushing defeat that brought back past times’ nightmares.
Despite entering the match with a four-game unbeaten streak and 10 points to their credit, Eddie Howe’s squad struggled at Selhurst Park and dropped down to seventh place behind Manchester United in the Premier League table.
Thus, back to the drawing board.
Jean-Philippe Mateta starred for the hosts, scoring both goals for Palace, his 10th and 11th of the season. His performance underscored the challenges Newcastle faced throughout the match, particularly after a nonsensical 10-day break since their last game—a 4-0 victory over Tottenham.
“We were disappointing in most aspects of our play and we have to take responsibility for that,” Howe said after the game.
The game remained goalless until the second half when Mateta and Jordan Ayew combined to break the deadlock. Shortly thereafter, Mateta doubled the advantage, leaving Newcastle with little hope of a comeback.
The Magpies had a chance to get back into the game when Sean Longstaff appeared to be fouled in the box, but neither the referee nor VAR deemed it a penalty. Alas.
Howe’s tactical adjustments and substitutions in the second half tried to foster a failed revival. The team struggled to create significant chances and only Alexander Isak (who else...) got close to putting the ball in the net only to get denied by once-Magpie-target Dean Henderson in the first half before the Eagles took sole possession of the game later on the evening.
“As always, when you talk tactically, it’s always about the attitude of the group, first and foremost,” Howe said. “If you’re not quite where you need to be, for whatever reason—mentally—then it doesn’t matter what you do tactically, you’re going to fall down.”
Wednesday marked the return of Callum Wilson from injury in a positive development, although he was unable to have any real impact on the game. Isak, despite his recent form, was superbly contained by Palace’s defense and his contributions were rather limited.
The loss stunted Newcastle’s momentum while complicating once again their chances and hopes for ending the year in a good place leading them to compete across Europe next season. Not that it’s impossible, but it’s going to be hard and demand the Mags put on better efforts to keep up with the rest of the teams fighting for such privileges during the home stretch of the season.
Despite entering the match with a four-game unbeaten streak and 10 points to their credit, Eddie Howe’s squad struggled at Selhurst Park and dropped down to seventh place behind Manchester United in the Premier League table.
Thus, back to the drawing board.
Jean-Philippe Mateta starred for the hosts, scoring both goals for Palace, his 10th and 11th of the season. His performance underscored the challenges Newcastle faced throughout the match, particularly after a nonsensical 10-day break since their last game—a 4-0 victory over Tottenham.
“We were disappointing in most aspects of our play and we have to take responsibility for that,” Howe said after the game.
The game remained goalless until the second half when Mateta and Jordan Ayew combined to break the deadlock. Shortly thereafter, Mateta doubled the advantage, leaving Newcastle with little hope of a comeback.
The Magpies had a chance to get back into the game when Sean Longstaff appeared to be fouled in the box, but neither the referee nor VAR deemed it a penalty. Alas.
Howe’s tactical adjustments and substitutions in the second half tried to foster a failed revival. The team struggled to create significant chances and only Alexander Isak (who else...) got close to putting the ball in the net only to get denied by once-Magpie-target Dean Henderson in the first half before the Eagles took sole possession of the game later on the evening.
“As always, when you talk tactically, it’s always about the attitude of the group, first and foremost,” Howe said. “If you’re not quite where you need to be, for whatever reason—mentally—then it doesn’t matter what you do tactically, you’re going to fall down.”
Wednesday marked the return of Callum Wilson from injury in a positive development, although he was unable to have any real impact on the game. Isak, despite his recent form, was superbly contained by Palace’s defense and his contributions were rather limited.
The loss stunted Newcastle’s momentum while complicating once again their chances and hopes for ending the year in a good place leading them to compete across Europe next season. Not that it’s impossible, but it’s going to be hard and demand the Mags put on better efforts to keep up with the rest of the teams fighting for such privileges during the home stretch of the season.