Birmingham 0-0 Newcastle: How yesterday's 'frustrating' draw proved to be a precious point

 

In the moments following Newcastle United's 0-0 draw away to Birmingham City yesterday, it was evident across social media, that several fans were left disappointed by the result. Given results elsewhere, however, it could be argued that this point has turned out to be a precious one for The Magpies.

Huddersfield's Friday night hammering away to Bristol City handed Newcastle an early boost this weekend, providing us with an opportunity to extend the gap to third to 9 points with a victory at St.Andrew's. While I appreciate a win yesterday would have been huge, a draw was far from disastrous, leaving me slightly baffled to see several fans reacting with such negativity.

Newcastle headed into the game-week 6 points ahead of Huddersfield. While we may not have got all three points, our result bettered that of Huddersfield's, seeing us extend the gap to third to 7.

Benitez shared this sentiment in his post match interview:

 “There are eight games left and we have one more point than before and Huddersfield lost."

Rafa makes a simple yet valid point, however, this mentality clearly wasn't shared with all Newcastle fans, making me wonder if several fans have become more consumed by the possibility of Brighton pipping us to the title than Huddersfield to the automatic promotion slots.

While I understand fan's desire and expectation to win the league title, given the clubs far superior resources, we must not lose sight of what really matters, which is securing our place in the top two to guarantee a return to the top flight.

No sooner had our game finished, Brighton took on Leeds in the late kick off at Elland Road, with Chris Hughton's men knowing a win would see them return to the summit following Newcastle's draw earlier in the day. Leeds, however, had other ideas as they executed a solid 2-0 win to deny Brighton a return to the top of the table.

Newcastle's draw therefore saw them gain a point on both Brighton and Huddersfield this weekend. While it will be argued that Rafa's men should be beating a struggling Birmingham side, I don't see how yesterday can be deemed a 'bad result' given it only served extend our lead over our two biggest promotion rivals (who both lost).

It is also worth remembering that this all came after Newcastle lined up without Clark, Shelvey and Gayle yesterday - the undoubted spine of the team (a point well made by The Chronicle's Mark Douglas below).

https://twitter.com/MsiDouglas/status/843180043627085825

https://twitter.com/MsiDouglas/status/843180258715164674

I understand fans are anxious to see Newcastle finish the job, with the last three results doing little to ease those nerves, as consecutive 0-0 draws on the road have fallen either side of a convincing home defeat to Fulham, meaning The Magpies are without a win in three.

We must not however let minor blips derail our thoughts, as the Championship season provides a long, hard, battle which Newcastle remain well on their way to conquering.

So, let's regain some perspective and realise that while Newcastle may have only drawn yesterday, we've still managed to come out of the weekend as winners, gaining what could be a valuable point over Huddersfield and Brighton.

(Updated Championship table going into the International break)