Meek Magpies must bounce back after the last hopes of Silva slip away
THE Etihad had long emptied as the rain fell yet those 7,800 Geordies in the away end were still standing. “WE’LL SUPPORT YOU EVER MORE!” they roared hoarsely.
The wait for silverware goes on, for another season anyway, following this 2-0 defeat against Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
It was a different venue and competition but an all too familiar feeling; the sight of crestfallen Newcastle United players and staff applauding the travelling support at full-time took you back to similar scenes at Stamford Bridge earlier this season and, even, Wembley less than a year ago.
Newcastle bounced back from that painful Carabao Cup final defeat to finish the league campaign strongly and that is exactly what Eddie Howe’s team have to do once more. In truth, it was always going to be a big ask to defeat this Manchester City side – let alone go all the way.
A welcoming steward at the Etihad
repeatedly told the Newcastle squad to “enjoy the game” as they walked to the dressing room an hour-and-a-half before kick-off, but it has been a long time since this was a pleasurable experience for any visiting side – let alone a team whose one and only win here came a decade ago.
It said it all that Manchester City found themselves 2-0 up after the half-hour mark on an evening when Erling Haaland did not score and Phil Foden did not register an assist. They did not need to. Two deflected efforts from Bernardo Silva proved enough for the treble winners.
Newcastle, in contrast, mustered just two shots full stop over the course of 90 minutes. You had to go back to the Steve McClaren era for the last time the injury-hit Magpies were quite so meek in front of goal and Howe was the first to admit there was a “big gap between the two teams”. “We have got a long way to go to get closer,” he told NUFC TV.
That won’t come as news to anyone connected to the club – players, staff or supporters – but this was another reminder of the work that needs to be done on and off the field in the coming months. Not only to “save our season”, in the words of Bruno Guimaraes, but also to ensure that Newcastle come back even stronger the next time they visit the Etihad.
Financial rules mean that Newcastle cannot turbocharge in the manner Manchester City did all those years ago, but there will be departures this summer.
Contracts are running out and some of these players might not get the chance to take the Magpies back to Wembley given the club’s need to trade and reinforce.
Howe felt he had to try something different on Saturday and, while the formation was new, as Newcastle switched to a back five, there was a rather familiar sight of the blackand-whites going behind inside a quarter of an hour on the road. It all came about when Rodri found Bernardo Silva in a huge area of space just outside the area and Dan Burn, conscious of Kyle Walker on the overlap, back-pedalled as the Portugal international drove into the box.
Joe Willock rushed over but Bernardo was still able to get a shot away and the ball took a huge deflection off Burn’s outstretched leg and looped over Martin Dubravka into the net.
However fortunate the deflection was, Newcastle invited the shot from one of Manchester City’s most dangerous players and it was far from a one-off. The hosts soon doubled their advantage in remarkably similar fashion.
Little more than half an hour had been played when Rodri once again played the ball to the unmarked Bernardo in that same area outside the box. Bernardo was again able to wander into the area and although Burn and Willock got across to narrow the angle, the 29-year-old still got a shot away and it took a deflection off the head of Sven Botman to deceive Dubravka and make it 2-0.
There was still so much time left to play but already it felt like a long way back for Newcastle, who had yet to
even have a shot in anger. However, the Magpies did have a glorious opportunity to get back into the game in the 36th minute.
Bruno Guimaraes fizzed the ball out to Jacob Murphy out on the right and the wing-back took a touch before swinging a cross to the back post. Burn rose above Kyle Walker to head the ball down to the unmarked Alexander Isak, but the record signing’s volley was kept out by Stefan Ortega. In a game like this, against an opponent like this, it was a chance Newcastle simply had to take.
It ultimately proved the visitors’ only effort on target all evening.
In truth, it was City who looked the likelier scorers without even having to hit top gear.
The first half was drawing to a close when Manuel Akanji’s through ball sent Jeremy Doku racing clear of
Jamaal Lascelles, who was on a yellow card, and Dubravka rushed out to block the shot.
City merely picked up from where they left off after the break when Foden’s clever flick cut Newcastle open and played Doku in, but Dubravka pushed the Belgian’s shot away. Then, just a few minutes later, Haaland drove at the heart of Newcastle’s defence as panicked blackand-white shirts retreated but the City striker fired wide.
Howe turned to his bench after the hour mark, throwing on Lewis Hall, Lewis Miley, Elliot Anderson and Miguel Almiron, and the energetic quartet quickly made an impact. In fact, Almiron’s smart pullback soon teed up Isak. However, the Sweden international took a heavy touch inside the box and failed to even make Ortega work. It summed up Newcastle’s night.