It was far from easy but Newcastle have picked up a second straight 2-1 victory downing Nottingham Forest at the daunting City Ground last night. The performance was excellent with two goals from Alexander Isak enough to take the three points, but just barely.
Elliot Anderson had his dream shattered by a controversial VAR ruling. The Geordie came on in the second half for Allan Saint-Maximin, who is reportedly injured. The 20-year-old provided an instant spark in his best performance for his hometown club.
That performance should have been topped with a match-winning maiden goal. However, the referee was called on to review Sean Longstaff’s role in the buildup. It was ruled that Felipe wasn’t in control when his attempted clearance was deflected by Longstaff.
Justice prevailed as Newcastle won a penalty which Isak coolly dispatched into the net. The Swede was outstanding scoring in added time at the end of both halves with his first strike a moment of class.
Barring the VAR debacle, this was an excellent match of football with Newcastle putting in an entertaining display. The result had a lot riding on it with Forest just 2 points above the bottom three.
There were plenty of borderline challenges, gamesmanship, and class on offer. Former Magpie Jonjo Shelvey put in an excellent performance for his new club and didn’t skirt any of his duals.
The three points are what Newcastle need heading into the international break which arrives in a timely manner. Next up is a critical showdown against Manchester United. The hope is Miguel Almiron, Anthony Gordon, and Miguel Almiron are available.
If not, Anderson could get just his second league start. It would be well-deserved. But for Isak’s exploits, the local lad put in a Man of the Match display with VAR’s cruelty momentarily delaying his dream of scoring for Newcastle United.
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236 comments so far
Ty21
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:22 PM
Comment #201Will some posters going say Newcastle going to drop below Villa after losing to Man Utd at SJP?
ToonDarnSarf
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:27 PM
Comment #202Ty21 – eh? Villa are miles behind us.
Ty21
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:29 PM
Comment #203ToonDarnSarf
Hopefully Isak will be on fire like Son and Kane. Son and Kane almost carried the entire scoring burden. Been awhile since Newcastle have a 20+ goals + assists player.
The Taco Taker
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:31 PM
Comment #204Right FA cup time, I defo want a Manc club to win the FA cup (ideally City) that way there is a extra place in Europe next season. We likely won’t need that place but it the tests one of the other top finishers squads next season which benefits us.
martoon
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:31 PM
Comment #205ToonDarnSarf – I think the problem with Spurs is their manager – very defensive tactics, he looks like he doesn’t want to be there and some of the players and a lot of their fans don’t want him to be there either!
Ty21
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:31 PM
Comment #206ToonDarnSarf
Not when you have posters saying Newcastle are finished when on a winless streak.
Ty21
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:35 PM
Comment #207martoon
Conte and Levy is a bad pairing to begin with. Conte always need big transfer to build his team, Levy don’t always splash out the money.
Davas
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:35 PM
Comment #208Well, I wonder how significant this last 24 hours could be. We score with a penalty to win in injury time and spurs concede one to draw in injury time. Plus the added bonus of Brentford only drawing.
Also Man Utd and spurs play each other in a couple of weeks I think.
ToonDarnSarf
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:35 PM
Comment #209Ty21 – Isak could be our version of Kane for years to come potentially. If he’s anywhere near Kane’s level then I’ll be happy! Then just need to find someone to link up with him as well as Son links up with Kane. Maybe that will be Gordon? Or maybe Maddison.
I know Spurs are nowhere near as good without those 2 players though. I think they”: struggle to finish in the top 6 without them.
ToonDarnSarf
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:38 PM
Comment #210Martoon – Spurs have been like this for a long time though. Just when it looks like then could kick on, they find a way of making it difficult for themselves. They can’t develop any sort of consistency. Just imagine where they’d be if they’d picked the right manager and backed him for years. You see what Arsenal are doing now and Spurs fans will hate it!
Ty21
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:39 PM
Comment #211ToonDarnSarf
Yup, you always need those 20+ goals players to win somethings. Even Leicester had Vardy scoring for fun that title winning year.
ToonDarnSarf
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:42 PM
Comment #212Ty21 – some posters are just miserable gits and don’t know their arse from their elbow. The beauty of football is that it’s unpredictable, looked like we were going to lose yesterday despite being the far better team until we got lucky with a penalty. We could have failed to get that luck and drawn 1-1 or we could have won that game 4-0 with pretty much the same performance just different luck.
ToonDarnSarf
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:42 PM
Comment #213Ty21 – who was City’s top goal scorer last season? Did he get 20 goals?
ToonDarnSarf
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:47 PM
Comment #214I looked it up. Only Salah and Son broke 20 goals last season. Both got 23. City’s top scorer was de Bruyne with just 15 but then won the league.
Arsenal’s top scorer this season has just 12 so far. You don’t need a 20+ goal player to win the league. Bet you Spurs have had a player score 20+ for ages and they haven’t won anything for a while.
Assassins Inc
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:47 PM
Comment #215Woke up and turned on TV for the spurs game and saw 1-3 for spurs, I was like, god damn.
Fell asleep, woke up right now and it’s 3-3.
Is this a sign, Get in The Saints, Newcastle marching forward. E.I.E.I.E.I.O
.
Raj of Hailsley
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:48 PM
Comment #216Lpool losing to Bmouth was a total game changer, it shows they’re not back to their best at all and that fourth or even third is still well achievable. Such a shame that our game against them wasn’t after the cup. The two games against Man U and Spurs are season defining, if we win both of them then we have to be favourites for top four.
Fenham to Chalfont
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:49 PM
Comment #217There we go a GoonDoonSooth is arguing the case that the mighty spurs are actually ok. Like he acts all insulted on occasions if you call out LiVARfool and Manure in a negative manner…
Howay man is this not an NUFC Blog or what???? YCMIU 😳
ToonDarnSarf
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:50 PM
Comment #218It’s all to play for. We’ll struggle if we get injuries to key players but so will Spurs. Man Utd and Liverpool have bigger squads so can deal with injuries better for sure. I think those 4 teams will end up 3-6th.
ToonDarnSarf
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:51 PM
Comment #219Fenham – use your noggin. If Spurs are terrible but we are below them, we must be even worse. Simple logic.
martoon
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:51 PM
Comment #220ToonDarnSarf @210 – They had the right manager with Pochettino – he got them to a CL final and now there are rumours he might be returning!
ToonDarnSarf
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:54 PM
Comment #221I can’t get my head around the illogic of calling other teams terrible when we’re competing with them. Surely it’s better to acknowledge that the “big 6” have excellent squads and that us competing with them is testament to how well Howe, his coaches, and the team are doing?
It’s a credit to the characters and hard work of all involved that we are where we are and still very much in the running for top 4!
Raj of Hailsley
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:54 PM
Comment #222They showed the bookies percentage last night, Man U were clear favourites with 90% chance, we were second favourites on 36%, Spurs on around 32%. Beat both of them and those odds have to change.
ToonDarnSarf
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:55 PM
Comment #223Martoon – still strange that he ever left. I could be remembering incorrectly but he was linked to Man Utd at the time so maybe Levy spitting his dummy out and sacking Poch because he refused to rule out moving to Man Utd?
Ap
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:55 PM
Comment #224Joelinton to come back on left wing to make us more solid. Need miggy and gordon back quick for bench depth
ToonDarnSarf
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:56 PM
Comment #225Raj – those % will have changed a bit in our favour based on the result today too. Pretty sure their calculations would have bad this as a very high chance of a Spurs win today. I’m
Raj of Hailsley
Mar 18, 2023 at 5:56 PM
Comment #226martoon,
Apparently Deli Alli was instrumental in causing the unrest in the dressing room that caused the results to falter and inevitably cost him is job.
Fenham to Chalfont
Mar 18, 2023 at 6:00 PM
Comment #227The same GoonDoonSooth who used to argue that the fat leech (who shall stay unnamed) was actually OK also.
He clearly likes to go against the grain however it just shows us that he must not be a fully fledged part of the Toon Army surely. I mean what proper NUFC supporter would put up an argument in favour of the fat leech. Or Manure, or LiVARfool, or now Spuds?? There seems to be a theme here with this charlatan 😉
Ap
Mar 18, 2023 at 6:00 PM
Comment #228Bellys after everyone today. Guess we all feel like this guy
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=J5IJLIX2wmU
The Taco Taker
Mar 18, 2023 at 6:00 PM
Comment #229I think the point is that you need either a 20+ goalscorer or a team that are full of goals from all over the pitch if you wanna win stuff.
Sure last season De Bruyne was Cities top scorer but Sterling also got 13, Mahrez 11 and plenty more goals from elsewhere.
We are a good side but there is no doubt we need more goals from over the pitch to consistently compete at the top. A solid defence can get you pretty far but ultimately you will have too many draws if dont put the ball in the net.
Note that is not a criticism of us this season, I think we are doing great. But we do need more of a goal threat next season. Isak looks the real deal but it is early days for him and we can’t rely on him alone or just hope miggy hits a purple patch.
Ap
Mar 18, 2023 at 6:01 PM
Comment #230Fat leech? Pot calling kettle….. 😀
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Mar 18, 2023 at 6:03 PM
Comment #231For what it’s worth I do think that structurally, Spurs are a rather average side who happen to be overly reliant on a world class striker. Without Kane they’d be distinctly average. As a “team”, I would say that we have as good, if not better, quality in many positions as they have. Their midfield is shocking for example. Conte is also a world class manager overachieving with this Spurs squad as well. If Kane ends up leaving the club, and with Chelsea and Liverpool (as well as ourselves of course) being much more competitive for top 4, I can’t see Spurs qualifying for top 4 again any time soon.
ToonDarnSarf
Mar 18, 2023 at 6:03 PM
Comment #232Fenham – I’m not going to bite with your infantile attempts to start an argument. I’m so sorry that the blog isn’t the playground that you want it to be. Now go and pull some legs off beetles as that seems about your level. Cheerio.
Digger54
Mar 18, 2023 at 6:03 PM
Comment #233Fenna five bellies swinging for a fight,,,,, yawn.
Ty21
Mar 18, 2023 at 6:06 PM
Comment #234On paper it was Joelinton at the left wing, but actually it is Willock showing up there mostly. Might be a strategic plan or something to cause confusion with that interchangeable roles.
CLINT FLICK
Mar 18, 2023 at 6:07 PM
Comment #235Don’t go flagrantly disliking other teams..ffs!
ottawageordie2
Mar 18, 2023 at 6:27 PM
Comment #236TDS
Your constant praise for manure, spuds and pool are aggravating. You seem to go out of your way to take a controversial approach and then criticize those on here who don’t offer the same praises to your favourites. Just because spuds are ahead in the standings doesn’t make them a better team. We have 2 games in hand. Give your head a wobble man.