Newcastle 2-0 Fiorentina: Geordie star shines in Sela Cup win at St James' Park
Newcastle kicked off the Sela Cup with a 2-0 win over Fiorentina, as goals from Miguel Almiron and Alexander Isak leave us top of the pile after Nice drew 1-1 with Villarreal in today's earlier game.
With Tino Livramento in the stands and several first-team players (16 in total) saved for tomorrow's meeting with Villarreal, Eddie Howe handed a first home start to Sandro Tonali, with Kieran Trippier, Alexander Isak and Miguel Almiron selected alongside U21 stars Elliot Anderson, Lewis Miley and Alex Murphy.
STARTING XI: Dubravka – Trippier, Botman, Murphy, Targett – L.Miley, Tonali, Anderson – Almiron, Gordon, Isak. (SUBS: Gillespie, Smith, De Bolle, Carylon, Savage, J.Miley, Diallo, Turner-Cookr, Hackett, Ndiweni, Huntley, Parkinson, McArthur).
It was a positive start full of pressing and our first opening came seven minutes in, where Isak's low drive was parried by Cerofolini after Trippier's threaded a through ball into the Swede's path.
Fiorentina should've taken the lead on the 15 minute mark. Arthur Melo picked out the run of Nicolas Gonzalez, only for the Argentine to fire over. After that came a flurry of chances at the other end, with Gordon at the heart of our next two openings.
The England U21 star looked full of confidence and created an opening for Almiron, who had his effort blocked after cutting in from the right. However, Gordon almost went one better on 25 minutes, firing his right-footed effort off the post after some lovely approach play from Isak and Anderson.
Anderson - our top scorer over pre-season - was another who looked full of energy and a real handful, while 17-year-old talent Lewis Miley composure and athleticism was evident once again.
Tonali was linking up nicely down the right-hand side of our midfield three, combining with Trippier and Almiron, joining the press and covering plenty of ground at the other end. He often kept it simple and sometimes played a little safe, but he does things quickly and covers plenty of ground.
Then, just over five minutes until the break, we took the lead thanks to that man Miguel Almiron. After Botman won the ball back on halfway, Isak burst forward and showed a cool head to pick out Almiron's darting run. The Paraguayan's first touch saw him burst past Biraghi and his second was an emphatic finish beyond Cerofolini to make it 1-0 Newcastle. His third of the summer and hopefully a sign of things to come at St James' Park!
Fiorentina were enjoying more of the ball, but we were sharp into the tackle and decisive in transition, with Almiron, Anderson, Isak and Gordon all causing havoc on the break. The Italian's had another chance through Gonzalez, whose second effort of the half was hit into the ground and straight at Dubravka. Moments later, Gordon's pace and direct running almost made it 2-0, as he cut in from the left and had an effort blocked before Arthur Cabral blazed over at the other end with the final touch of the first half.
Anderson offered so much on and off the ball, Gordon was visibly fitter, sharper and more confident, Tonali tidy and tenacious and Miley composed as ever, with Isak linking the play superbly in attack. Alex Murphy also deserves a shoutout, as he didn't look out of place and carried the ball out of defence impressively on a couple of occasions.
It wasn't a classic opening 45, but there were flashes of quality from our lively front three. One criticism from the first half was the number of openings coming down their right, where Matt Targett looked anything but secure at left-back.
Howe made no changes at the break and the opening 13 minutes of the second half were a bit of a non event until Almiron could and should have made it 2-0. He picked the pocket of the Fiorentina defence and burst clean through, only to hit his side footed effort straight at Cerofolini. He perhaps had too much time to think about it and it was a tame effort, denying the winger his fourth of pre-season.
Following a mix-up with Martin Dubravka that led to an avoidable Fiorentina corner, Trippier redeemed himself with a blatant bodycheck to stop a dangerous counter from the Serie A sides. Tonali showed his class moments later, sweeping a superb cross-field pass into Anderson's path. A stunning switch of play and yet another first-time ball from the Italian, who reminded fans why we paid £55m for the former AC Milan star.
Another opening came our way with 20 minutes remaining, as Gordon and Almiron combined before the Paraguayan released Isak down the left. Our club-record signing twisted and turned his way into the box, but the attack broke down due to a lack of options in the box.
A few moments later, a clever piece of skill from Lewis Miley won us a free-kick down the right. We wasted our opportunity to get the ball into the box, but it soon broke Trippier's way, who slid a superb low cross into Gordon's path. The blonde-haired attacker timed his run well and arrived into the box with pace, though he couldn't keep his effort down and fired way over. He had to score and should've made it 2-0 Newcastle.
With 80 minutes on the clock, Lewis Miley made way for academy graduate Ben Parkinson; the 18-year-old forward who secured his first pro deal on Tyneside a few months ago. He went up top, Gordon dropped into a midfield three and Isak moved out to the left; where he immediately picked up the ball, drove at the Fiorentina defence and forced a corner.
Trippier's delivery from the Gallowgate corner was bang on the money and Isak's header was even better, as his glancing flick found the net to make it 2-0 Newcastle. He'd been more of a creator all afternoon, but it was a goal his performance deserved and great to see the big man score a header; an area of his game Howe has been keen to improve given his height.
Two changes followed in the 88th minute, as Isak and Almiron were replaced by U21 duo Michael Ndiweni and Jay Turne-Cooke; the former Sunderland talent who scored in our pre-season opener at Gateshead.
Some stunning play from Anderson capped off a superb display from the local lad, who pulled off a lovely piece of skill before driving forward with the ball. The attack ended with another half chance for Gordon, who smashed over after snatching at his edge of the box effort, but it was more brilliance from Anderson, who was the best player on the park and one of several academy talents to impress.
Our 'Geordie Maradona' looks strong as an ox, fit as a fiddle, so confident on the ball and a nightmare to play against. I'd be shocked if he doesn't start against Villa this time next week.
A good run out for the team, a promising performance in patches and great to see fans back at St James' Park ahead of next week's Premier League opener against Aston Villa. Pre-season only means so much, but it's promising we remain unbeaten six games into our summer schedule.
Next up, Newcastle United Women play West Brom in today's final game on Tyneside, followed by tomorrow's 4pm kick-off with Villarreal. Beat the Spaniards and we'll lift the Sela Cup!
