Newcastle 4-4 Luton: Toon's defensive weaknesses exposed in eight-goal thriller

A brace from local lad Sean Longstaff wasn’t enough for all three points as Newcastle played out a thrilling eight-goal draw with Luton at St James’ Park.

Sean Longstaff’s two goals either side of Gabriel Osho’s equaliser looked to be the difference for the Toon but Ross Barkley’s goal just before half-time meant that the game was a stalemate at the break.

A penalty from Carlton Morris and a strike from Elijah Adebayo saw Luton go 4-2 up before Kieran Trippier and Harvey Barnes levelled the game again in a pulsating, but frustrating second-half.

Dropped points mean that Newcastle missed the chance to move back up the table into European contention after a strong win against highly-rated Villa midweek.

After having some luck in wide areas in the opening minutes, Trippier found himself on the right flank. The right back flashed a ball low towards the penalty area and Longstaff came crashing into the box to fire the Toon ahead.

But Luton were level on 21 minutes after Carlton Morris nodded across a set piece for Osho to head in off the bar.

No sooner than Newcastle fans could vent their frustration of Osho being left free in the six-yard-box, the Mags were ahead again. Gordon got away from his defender superbly on the left-hand side and cut inside for a shot on goal. It was parried but only as far as Longstaff who buried his second in the far corner.

After getting to a loose ball from Longstaff, Barkley drove forward between the midfield and defensive lines and was first to the rebound after Doughty’s strike was parried into his feet for a tap in.

We were on top in the first half, but some sloppy periods of possession allowed Luton space to run into on a couple of occasions. The midfield three looked less energetic and disciplined after Bruno’s knock midway through the first half.

Wilson made his return from injury at the start of the second half, replacing Gordon. A switch up in the front three ensued and Almiron and Murphy swapped sides.

Ogbene had Burn’s number for the entire afternoon and the pacey winger eventually won a penalty after getting past Burn. He was judged to have pulled him down in the box and Luton had three after Morris converted from the spot.

Three minutes later Luton were 4-2 up after Barkley slipped the ball to Adebayo in the box after calamitous defending left him free to pick his spot in the far corner.

But Newcastle were not giving up on the game and within five minutes Trippier had reduced Luton’s lead to one after meeting Bruno’s cross with a thumping low volley.

And oh my goodness this match! Five minutes after Trippier’s volley made it 4-3, Newcastle were level through Barnes who marked his first game for the Toon since an injury in September with an equaliser. He found the bottom corner with a great strike from distance as the game got even more crazy.

It was a second half of purely chaotic Premier League football and you have a feeling that Kevin Keegan would be proud of the never-say-die approach from both teams.

However, frailties at the back have plagued Newcastle in recent weeks and it could be argued that Howe has a very important decision to make with regards to his back four going forward. Dan Burn’s lack of pace has been exploited twice this week, firstly by Villa’s Leon Bailey and today by Luton’s Ogbene.

Livramento came on in the second-half and the chances down our left dried up for Luton, with Ogbene not longer able to beat his man with ease.

It was nice though to see Wilson and Barnes back in the squad and making an impact on the pitch. We haven’t been able to see what Barnes has fully been able to do – this was only his seventh league game in black and white.

On a frustrating afternoon where the Toon’s attacking prowess was cancelled out by defensive mistakes, seeing us slip to 9th after Brighton's 4-1 win over Palace. Hopefully this isn't a game that we look back on at the end of the season as a missed opportunity.

NUFC XI: Dubravka, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, Bruno, Longstaff, Miley, Murphy, Almiron, Gordon.

SUBS: Karius, Dummett, Wilson, Ritchie, Barnes, Krafth, Hall, Livramento, White.