Phew! We all breathed a sigh of relief on Saturday afternoon, as Newcastle were able to get back to winning ways on the South Coast, after falling at home to Bournemouth last weekend.
Howe’s side appeared back to their dominant best for much of the 90 minutes against Southampton at St Mary’s, with the usual suspects once again proving key contributors in front of a raucous Geordie away end.
We also said goodbye and farewell to a certain diminutive South American winger who appears headed back to his former MLS home. Miguel Almiron should always be remembered at Newcastle as someone who gave everything they had for the badge, even when times were tough. Good luck, Miggy!
As usual, I’m Sam and welcome to another edition of the Toon Review!
Newcastle were no doubt itching to put the disappointment of Bournemouth behind them. To do so, however, they would have to weather an early storm from bottom-of-the-table Southampton and come back from a goal down. Jan Bednarek’s headed opener, in the end, did nothing other than spark Howe’s side into life in emphatic fashion.
Home fans had barely had time to celebrate their unlikely lead when VAR confirmed a foul on Alexander Isak inside the penalty area. The super Swede subsequently converted the spot-kick in composed fashion, levelling the score at one a-piece. He had netted the first of two goals on the afternoon, a brace that took him to a highly impressive 17 Premier League strikes for the season. Best striker in the league? Best striker in the world.
From then on, the game was mostly controlled by the visitors, with Isak and co forcing a number of saves from Saints keeper Alex McCarthy. Southampton did come close a couple of times, most notably through a Taylor Harwood-Bellis strike from a corner that required a fine save from Martin Dubravka to tip it over the crossbar.
The scoring was rounded off by a flowing, quick, devastating move in which Sandro Tonali found himself one-on-one with the hapless McCarthy. Tonali gave him the eyes and casually rolled it into the bottom left corner. Off he went to the away fans to celebrate. At the full-time whistle, Howe encouraged (or rather pushed) outgoing midfielder Miguel Almiron in front of an away end saying farewell to one of the club’s hardest-working players over the last few years.
Almiron has agreed personal terms to return to his former MLS club Atlanta United and the move appears imminent, with one report claiming that tears were shed as he said his goodbyes to teammates this week.
“It was another tough away game but a great result for us. I thought the lads dug in after a difficult start.”
“Last week was hugely disappointing in lots of different ways. We knew we needed to respond today and show that it was a one-off.”
On physical levels of the squad: “They were closer to where we want to be. I don’t think we were our physical best today but I think sometimes the game dictates that.”
On Isak’s performance and goals: “He’s in really good form and deserves a lot of credit. He got the adrenaline going, and was untouchable at times during that first half.”
On Sandro Tonali: “It was a cool finish. He was at the heartbeat of everything we did well today.”
On Almiron’s farewell: “The crowd were embracing him for everything he’s done for the club. It was only right that he took his moment, regardless of what happens.”
Miguel Almiron is all set to sign a four-and-a-half year deal with Atlanta United after Newcastle agreed a $12m (£9.6m) deal with the MLS side (Fabrizio Romano)
Newcastle did the groundwork over January deal for Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis, but were blocked from pursuing either this month due to PSR issues, allowing Man City to step in (The Athletic)
Newcastle are continuing to watch Lille’s Canadian striker Jonathan David, who is out of contract this summer, and have also sent scouts to Monaco and Lens (The Chronicle)
The Magpies retain an interest in Burnley’s English goalkeeper James Trafford and Wolves’ Brazilian attacker Matheus Cunha. (The i)
Club officials plan to offer in-form Alexander Isak a new long-term contract in the summer. (The Telegraph)
Newcastle are interested in Bournemouth’s young Ukrainian defender Iliia Zabarnyi but know a deal won’t be possible until the summer. (The i)
I know we’ve talked a lot about the FA Cup in the Toon Review recently, but I couldn’t leave this one off. On this day, 28th January, way back in 1976, Newcastle defeated Coventry City 5-0 in a Fourth Round replay at St James’ Park. They drew the reverse tie 1-1, but left nothing to chance on Tyneside, putting Coventry to the sword in front of a crowd 44,676 strong.
Mickey Burns opened the scoring in the 24th minute, before a goal from Alan Gowling and a brace from iconic striker Malcolm “Supermac” MacDonald made it four mid-way through the second half. Tommy Cassidy completed the rout in the 90th minute, ensuring an emphatic United victory and setting up a tie against Bolton Wanderers in the Fifth Round. They would also eventually win this one, after a draw and two replays.
Fulham (h)
Saturday marks a rare occasion in which I will be attending a 3pm kickoff at St James’ this season, as United look to start another winning streak. A win against Fulham at the weekend will surely signify that the Bournemouth defeat was a fluke and a thing of the past, and signal to Newcastle’s rivals for European football that they are still very much hungry for qualification.
It’s trivia time again! Well done to all of you who got last week’s Southampton-related question correct. The Saints moved out of their iconic old ground The Dell and into St Mary’s in 2001.
With Miggy’s departure set to be complete over the next few days, let’s make this one Almiron-themed! Over the course of his time on Tyneside, how many goals did the Paraguayan score for the club in all competitions? Remember, no cheating and looking up answers!
I’ll see you all early next week, when we can hopefully discuss another three points for Newcastle United! Some recruitments from the transfer market would be nice too, though…
HWTL.