PLAYER RATINGS – Burnley 1-0 Newcastle: One 7, several 6's, a few 5's, one 4 & a woeful 3
A terrible game and toothless performance from Newcastle at Turf Moor, with us failing to register a single shot on target against a beatable Burnley side.
Here’s an assessment of each player’s performance along with our marks out of 10:
STARTING 11:
Dubravka – 6 - Had little to do but dealt with everything he had to pretty comfortably in the first half, tipping a long-range shot from McNeil out of danger early on and being quick off his line when he needed to be, however he made a big error for Burnley's winner. Got nowhere near the corner and was left in no mans land as Wood headed into an empty net. That said, he pulled off a solid one-on-one stop to deny Cork at 1-0.
Manquillo – 7* - Our best player for me - although it wasn't hard to stay out today. Faded a little in the second half, but was outstanding in the first, timing his tackles, breaking away with the ball well and giving their key creator Dwight McNeil very little joy down their left.
Schar - 5 - Dealt with the physical Barnes well in the first half, but struggled to step out of defence and create in what was an awfully scrappy game at Turf Moor. Should've done MUCH better for their goal, being outmuscled by Wood far too easily at the back post.
Fernandez – 5 - Plenty clearances and big wins in the air, but a few unconvincing moments on the ground, giving away the corner that led to their goal and conceding a few cheap free kicks.
Dummett – 6 – His balls up to Carroll and general play in possession showed his real lack of quality, but he was solid defensively. Timed a few recovery tackles superbly and put his body on the line.
Willems – 5 - A pretty quiet game. Burnley lacked width down his side so he was rarely tested defensively and he didn't have much to work with at the other end with Joelinton often drifting in-field.
Hayden – 6 – Delivered two brilliant balls into the box early on and was the one player trying to drive us on in the early stages. Combative as ever but had to do more work that he'd have liked to on the ball in Shelvey's absence.
S.Longstaff - 3 - You could tell he hadn't started a game since October. He was sluggish off the ball and sloppy on it, with us missing Shelvey's quality on the ball badly here. So many of his set piece deliveries hit the first man and he miscued several 'clearances', also handing Burnley a huge chance to go 2-0 up after turning into trouble in an awful area.
Atsu - 4 - Had one brilliant chance to pull the trigger after being slipped in by Carroll but turned back on himself and allowed the attack to fizzle out. Was quiet and, aside from winning a few fouls, he didn't offer nearly enough. Indecisive and wasteful.
Joelinton – 6 - We saw very few '£40m' moments and I wouldn't be surprised if there's several NUFC fans who weren't inspired by what they saw from him today, but he was a little bit better here. Almost bagged a brilliant assist, outmuscling Pieters and putting it on a plate for Gayle all for him to miss from 6 yards out.
Carroll - 6 - Didn't receive the best service or ever have many bodies around him, but held up the ball well at times and was a handful throughout. That said, we saw too many loose touches, frustrated arms up in the air reckless moments, with him lucky to stay on the pitch after a stray elbow smashed Ben Mee in the face just moments after they look the lead.
SUBS
Gayle - Missed a huge chance to make it 1-1, side-footing a brilliant cross from Joelinton wide. He offers little but goals, so NEEDS to be scoring those
Muto - Came on to try and get us back into the game but did next to nothing in the final third. Plenty running and effort, but never looks like scoring.
