Newcastle United breezed past a horrendous Huddersfield by two goals to nil on Saturday as they moved four points clear of relegation.
The first half was tightly contested as neither side managed to dominate a scrappy opening. Yet the game took a huge turn on the 20th minute as Huddersfield’s skipper Tommy Smith was shown a straight red card after diving in on Miguel Almiron which ultimately handed Newcastle the three points. Minutes into the second half Newcastle tightened their grasp on the game. Sean Longstaff started the move with a wonderful cross-field ball to pick out DeAndre Yedlin; Yedlin then fed the ball to Salomon Rondon, who finished through the legs of Jonas Lossl from eight yards out. The second quickly followed and it was Rondon who was involved again, his flicked ball set up Ayoze Perez for a simple finish to make it two nil to the Magpies. Only seven minutes separated the two goals and Huddersfield were far to slow out of the blocks and allowed the hosts to control the remainder of the game.
Disciplinary problems for the Terriers
Huddersfield Town have been in the Premier League for the last two seasons now and in that time, Town have accumulated a total of seven red cards with four of those seven coming in this season alone – which isn’t even finished yet. This suggests that there are some serious disciplinary problems in East Yorkshire. Tommy Smith added to the increasing tally on Saturday, with a reckless lunge on the Newcastle new boy Miguel Almirón; his challenge was deemed worthy of a straight red by Kevin Friend, amidst little protest from Town players. The Terrier’s boss Jan Siewert faces the ever-increasing impossible challenge of survival, and his players’ poor levels of disciple won’t be helping in his task.
Midfield maestro in the making: Sean Longstaff
The 21-year-old has been in fantastic form, cementing his place in Rafael Benitez’s side after only eight consecutive games in all competitions. The Englishman emerged from Newcastle’s academy at the beginning of January, and since then he has made six full Premier League appearances. Interestingly, out of the six games that Longstaff has played, the Magpies have won three of them, including their victory against Manchester City. Longstaff’s addition to the team has caught the eye of Newcastle legend, Alan Shearer. The latter described the academy prospect’s performance as “faultless in the middle of the pitch” after another man of the match performance.
Miguel Almirón excels in his home debut
Exciting times for Newcastle United as their record signing was given his home debut against Huddersfield; the Paraguay playmaker proved little short of scintillating, as he put in a dazzling display in front of the Geordie faithful. His afternoon almost got off to a perfect start after his quick thinking and rapid feet swept him beyond the Town back-line early on before he audaciously dinked the ball over the on-coming Jonas Lössl and on to the post.
Almirón could have had a hat-trick on Saturday as he seemed to bewilder the Terriers defensive line all afternoon. Moments into the second half, Lössl kept the visitors in the game as Almirón’s low, angled drive was placed well into the corner after he swiveled and wrong-footing two defenders to break free. His consistent attacking impetus eventually paid off as he was involved in helping craft the last goal; he supplied an accurate volleyed cross that was headed on by Yedlin to Rondón who got a subsequent flick before Pérez put the hosts two up.
The Rondon and Perez partnership
Salomón Rondón had the standout performance this weekend. The Venezuelan centre-forward who has been borrowed from West Brom was superb against the Terriers. He unlocked the stubborn Huddersfield’s defence with a clinical finish for the first goal and he helped create the second for Ayoze Pérez. Rondón who could be playing in a Championship promotion race with the Baggies, has a tally of seven goals and four assists in the Premier League so far, which is already better than last season. He seems to be bringing the best out of Pérez this season too. Pérez who also found the back of the net on Saturday and has been in great form and the attacking addition of Miguel Almirón will only bring more from him.
What next for the Terriers?
It’s fair to say that Huddersfield are fully immersed in a crisis this season. 27 games played and they have won only twice, scoring a lacklustre 14 goals. You have to look at the situation on a game-to-game basis and if Town are to miraculous stay up, they need to win and it has to be their next game.
Next game Huddersfield are back at the John Smith’s Stadium and face an excellent Wolves side who are now eighth in the table. In itself it is a tough game, but given their position, they must just try and win or at least not embarrass the home crowd. Mathematically, it is virtually impossible that the Terriers can avoid the drop, but this is the Premier League and anything is possible.
