Newcastle 1-0 Aston Villa: Towering Dan Burn debut helps Toon to another huge win
Three wins on the trot and two in a week at St James' Park. Feels good, doesn't it!?
After blowing Everton away in that second half on Tuesday night, we had to show guts, organisation and real hard work to hold on in this one, putting in a superb defensive display to keep out an Aston Villa side who huffed and puffed to no avail.
The result takes us FOUR clear of third bottom Norwich, five ahead of Watford (19th), seven points clear of bottom of the table Burnley - who lost at home to Liverpool today - and leaves us just three behind an out of sorts Brentford who've played two games more than us.
Eddie Howe was forced to make two changes for this one, seeing Dan Burn and Javier Manquillo replace an ill Jamaal Lascelles and ineligible Matt Targett.
The match winning moment arrived from who else but Kieran Trippier. After passing a late fitness test, he not only kept Digne and Coutinho quiet in the first half but scored that all important goal before hobbling off with an injury soon after the restart.
That is a concern - especially as he's been spotted on crutches since - however we can take heart from the way we ground out the win in his absence.
A special mention must go to Burn. The Geordie defender is a giant, but his presence on the pitch today was even bigger today, with him barely putting a foot wrong all afternoon as he bullied Watkins, read the play superbly and brought an air of calm to our back four.
We looked so much fitter and a side filled with confidence and belief that we CAN no see out games after taking the lead. Where we bottled it against Watford last month, we have showed our metal in the way we've seen out victories against Everton and Villa this week.
Krafth did little wrong after replacing him, Fraser was tireless, Joelinton a man mountain in the middle, while the likes of Schar and Shelvey continue to look like two players finally adding consistency to their games.
Although he had his moments, today also proved that we don't completely rely on Allan Saint-Maximin to wins games. He had a quiet second half and didn't always do enough to help out Paul Dummett - who came on after an injury to Manquillo - but we still managed to keep the likes of Coutinho, Watkins, Ings and Buendia at bay.
Aside from the Watkins goal that was disallowed by VAR after a lengthy check, it never actually felt like they were about to score. Considering we've been a side that couldn't keep a clean sheet or protect a lead for love nor money this season, it says a lot that Dubravka had so little to do.
Another great atmosphere, another outstanding effort, another game that's seen Eddie Howe outsmart a fellow young English manager and another huge step towards Premier League safety.
Next up, a trip to West Ham in next Saturday's early kick off!
STARTING 11: Dubravka – Trippier, Schar, Burn, Manquillo – Shelvey, Willock, Joelinton – Fraser, Wood, Saint-Maximin.
SUBS: Darlow, Dummett, Krafth, Murphy, Almiron, Gayle, Longstaff, Bruno, De Bolle.
