Half time: Cherries 0
Magpies 0
60 mins: A hopeful ball out of defence by Jamaal
Lascelles was aimed at Sean Longstaff on the right flank close to
halfway, but intercepted by Lloyd Kelly. He scooped the ball forward
to Marco Senesi, whose turn took Joelinton out of the equation
before Ryan Christie picked up possession.
Feeding Antoine Semenyo infield, a fortunate deflection of the
recovering Joe Willock took the ball into the Newcastle area and
into the path of Dominic Solanke, who had ghosted in behind both
Fabian Schar and Tino Livramento. The Cherries striker took a touch
before firing right-footed between Pope and his near post from six
yards out in front of the Steven Fletcher stand. 0-1
73 mins: Lewis Cook's corner from the Bournemouth left
was met by Luis Sinisterra and Matt Ritchie, with the home player
able to head goalwards. The ball rebounded off the near post and hit
Ben Parkinson, whose touch took it towards Dominic Solanke.
As Parkinson kicked out again in an attempt to clear the ball,
Solanke was able to flick it home - a VAR check confirming the
scorer hadn't used his hand to control the ball before netting. 0-2
Full time: Cherries 2 Magpies 0
Eddie Howe
said:
"It was a game where we couldn't be where
we needed to be for it and it was a tough watch. We were unrecognisable today.
It was a real off day. There are reasons, but I don't want to sit here and make
excuses. I want to support the players.
"It was just a game too far and we couldn't respond. Bournemouth played
well but we were well below par. It was a tough afternoon. We weren't ourselves
in possession or out of possession. If you can't do that at this level, it will
be a difficult day.
"When we are under fatigue and
stretched, we usually respond better. We need to dust ourselves down and come
back in strong.
“Nick Pope made some great saves for us and he needed to as we were leaking
chances. Jamaal Lascelles did great in the air too but I don’t think there
were too many bright sparks. We were well off it.
"We have a whole host of players and we
need them back as soon as we can. We have a busy December as well so it's not a
good mix but something we have to get used to.
"The break has come at a good time for us but I don't necessarily think it
will bring a flood of players back. We have long-term injured players. Hopefully
we can get one or two back, while Bruno (Guimaraes) was suspended at a
bad time.
"We didn't have the options on the
bench to change things and Miggy (Almiron's) injury made things even
harder.
"There's no criticism of the young guys who came in today but it was a
tough environment for them. We suffered the consequences.
"In an ideal world, there were a couple
of players we'd have liked to have brought off sooner than we did today and it's
just a sign of how stretched we are.
"Callum (Wilson)
won't travel with England. He's going to be out for a number of weeks."
On Kieran Trippier's exchange with a fan:
"I did see that and I just think there is high emotion at the
end of games. We really appreciate our away support. Everyone is valued and
we're just disappointed with the result.
"Kieran is fine. Emotions run
high. We all feel a bit emotional after that from our perspective. We value all
our away support, we value them greatly. We thank them for their support."
Trippier himself added:
"The fans are emotional, they have travelled a long way. I had a chat with
one of them, saying we are giving everything and there’s no need to panic. We
got beat and we apologise for that result, but the lads are giving everything.”
Andoni
Iraola (Rayo Vallecano boss for a post-World Cup kickabout visit to
SJP last December):
"We wanted to put pressure on
them and make them feel like it was going to be an uncomfortable game.
That they would be facing a tough press and would not be free on the ball.
"It was key to start strong. We had some good chances at the
beginning, we couldn't score and at half time it looked like one of those
games. We were by far the best team but nil-nil, a very dangerous
situation.
"I would say that was the
best performance from us so far this season, a complete performance. We
have had good 45 minute spells in some games but the way we played both
halves today was probably the best we have done all season.
"It is always important when you have the chance to play in front of
your own fans, to have home advantage. Teams come here and know it is not
going to be comfortable for them.
"It is a win that we needed but we still need to keep working because
we need more wins and more points, but I am happy with the effort we put
in today.
"I think we really deserved this
win. We played well and had good chances. Luckily we finished the job in
the second half.
"Dom (Solanke) has been
very good for us. On the ball and off the ball, he helps his team-mates.
He missed chances in the first half but cleared his mind and continued
playing the same way, which was impressive."
Newcastle suffered their first
ever top-flight loss on this ground at the sixth time of asking,
following two wins and three draws on their previous visits.
Lewis Miley became
the youngest player to start a game for Newcastle in the Premier
League.
Striker Ben Parkinson made his senior bow for United, the
Durham-born 18 year-old the 262nd player to appear for the
club in that competition. "Parky" had featured in
five out of the seven pre-season games, appearing for a total of 69
minutes.
There were first PL bench
selections for winger Amadou Diallo and defender Alex
Murphy, neither of whom were called into action.
Another unsuccessful outing for the green away kit - shirts
today including a poppy motif:
Brighton (a) lost 1-3
Wolves (a) drew 2-2
Dortmund (a) lost 0-2
Bournemouth (a) lost 0-2
In addition to Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall both having
previously managed tonight's opponents, there were a trio of
familial NUFC connections in the Bournemouth squad in the shape of
Max Aarons (cousin of Rolando), Justin Kluivert (son of Patrick) and
Marcus Tavernier (brother of James).
Cherries v Magpies - all time:
2023/24 lost
0-2 PL
2022/23 drew 1-1 PL Almiron
2019/20 won 4-1 PL Gayle, S.Longstaff, Almiron, Lazaro
2018/19 drew 2-2 PL Rondon, Ritchie
2017/18 drew 2-2 PL Gayle 2
2015/16 won 1-0 PL Perez
1991/92 drew 0-0 FAC
1989/90 lost 1-2 D2 Quinn
1966/67 won 4-1 FR Bennett 2, Davies, Robson
1963/64 lost 1-2 LC McGarry pen
There was a booking for Jamaal
Lascelles, capping an unhappy 30th birthday for tonight's captain.
He now has three PL yellow cards as does Kieran Trippier. Sean
Longstaff remains one booking away from an automatic one match ban
while Bruno Guimaraes served
his single game suspension here.
Striker Dominic Solanke netted and finished on the winning side against
Newcastle for the first time at the eighth time of asking, seven in the
colours of Bournemouth and one playing for Liverpool.
|
Waffle |
There may have been over 70,000 fewer fans in attendance tonight than in
Germany on Tuesday, but the problems currently afflicting Newcastle were
just as evident to the smaller live audience here.
A jaded Magpies side gifted
the bottom-three side hosts all three points, making it a miserable return to
the
inappropriately-named Vitality Stadium for
Eddie Howe, hamstrung not only by absentees but by the obvious fatigue of
several players who were running on empty before first whistle.
United were looking to extend a seven game unbeaten record in the
Premier League but instead lost for the first time in that competition
here, thanks to a second half brace from Dominic Solanke.
Injuries and suspensions saw a forward line of Anthony
Gordon, Miguel Almiron and Joelinton with all taking turns in leading the
attack but none able to provide a focal
point; a lack of pressure on the home goal giving an increasingly
confident Cherries side the impetus they needed.
An already lengthy injury and suspension list increased still further after half an
hour when Almiron hobbled off with a hamstring pull - the rapidity that
Matt Ritchie was stripped and ready to come on suggesting that the
Paraguayan wasn't 100% fit before the game.
That blow came after a surging run into the box by Miggy looked to be
ended illegally by Lloyd Kelly's shirt tug on the byline, although there
was no real appeal.
The absence of Bruno Guimaraes to suspension meanwhile resulted in a first
start for 17 year-old Lewis Miley in midfield, and he was one of the few
clad in green who didn't dent their reputation.
Nick Pope was probably the other, making six or seven excellent saves to
prevent the Cherries from picking off more than just the two Solanke
goals.
Both came after an interval that United had limped to
goalless; Lewis Hall withdrawn at that point for the second game
running and replaced by Tino Livramento - who later swapped flanks with
Trippier.
Solanke's first followed an
unfortunate deflection off Joe Willock, the ball falling kindly for the
big striker to lash the ball inside Pope's near post with an hour gone.
A rare flowing attack saw United come close to levelling four minutes
later but after Livramento had done well to play him inside, Gordon shot
hastily from the edge of the box and hit it straight at Neto.
The visitors struggled to stay in contention and the game was over in the 73rd
minute when a corner from the left was headed against the front post and
Solanke was first to react to flick the ball in.
The first of two needless VAR decisions quickly decided there had been no
handball and that was also the case three minutes from the end when Gordon
was cleared of using his hand in our box.
0-2 behind, a presentable chance fell to Sean Longstaff in the box but he
capped an awful night by blasting harmlessly over - although in clear
discomfort after twisting his ankle when the ball struck him and staying
on until full time despite being clearly exhausted.
Further goals for the hosts would have been no surprise with Newcastle
pushing on, Pope making a miraculous stop late on to tip over Luis
Sinisterra's deflected shot and grateful moments earlier when Solanke
could only hit the side netting as he tried to complete his treble.
At the other end there was a debut for Ben Parkinson,
one of three players promoted from the U21 squad for bench duty here
tonight - 18 year-old forward also named among the substitutes in Dortmund
on Tuesday, having faced the Bundesliga's U19 side in the Youth League in
October.
A verbal altercation between Trippier and one visiting fan post-match saw the clearly unhappy player reference the
injury crisis before being ushered away by a steward and Joelinton. That
illustrated frustration from both parties at the end of a tiring period,
but any side would struggle to overcome the absences we're currently
enduring. That's then exacerbated by a lack of depth beyond the 25 man
squad that reflects previous underachievement at academy level.
A deserved defeat then ahead of an international break that
couldn't come soon enough, although how much of a break those players fit
enough to represent their countries get is debatable: Fabian Schar struggling here but now off to join a Swiss squad facing
three games in seven days and Trippier surely better advised to rest up
than linking up with England.
The defeat took the hosts clear of the relegation zone while Newcastle
slipped one place to seventh following Manchester United's 1-0 win over
Luton Town. There may only be a marginally larger squad to pick from for
the visit of Chelsea on Saturday week, but at least they might be less
knackered - it's been tiring enough watching this sequence of games, never
mind playing in them....
Biffa