Newcastle 5-1 Sheffield Utd: Toon move closer to sixth after surviving early scare
Newcastle survived an early scare against Sheffield United and kept their European hopes well and truly alive with a thumping win in a real Jekyll and Hyde performance.
A brace from Alexander Isak - who scored on his seventh-straight game at St James' Park - and goals from Bruno Guimaraes, Callum Wilson and a Ben Osborne own-goal cancelled out Anel Ahmedhodzic’s opener for the Blades.
The victory sends us just one point behind sixth-place Man Utd, who conceded late in a 1-1 draw with Burnley, and six clear of Chelsea; who have two games in hand but face a tough trip to Aston Villa tonight.
Eddie Howe changed his backline again this season after a poor showing away to Crystal Palace midweek. Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall started their first Premier League game together on either side of the back four, while Harvey Barnes dropped to the bench.
Sheffield United’s opener came through a well-worked corner in the fifth minute which was played short and then whipped in for an open Ahmedhodzic at the back post whose header went through Dubravka’s legs to stun the home crowd.
It could have quite easily been 3-0 to the bottom-placed side within the opening 16 minutes if not for some crucial blocks by Dan Burn, who saved us on several occasions in what was a pretty awful first half.
The leveller came admittedly against the run of play, but after Jacob Murphy slipped Isak in through the right-hand channel, the Swedish forward’s quality saw the ball pushed into the far corner to a collective outward breath of relief from the Toon army.
Burn made it a hattrick of goal-saving blocks on 30 minutes, stopping Brereton-Diaz’s strike and by half-time we were lucky not to be out of the game completely. After almost being withdrawn early on, Fabian Schar made way at the break, seeing Emil Krafth come on in his place as we came out to attack the Gallowgate.
Bruno Guimaraes nodded the Toon ahead in dramatic fashion, diving onto the ball from a freekick to smash it home. His celebration was pure joy, holding the corner flag aloft in proud defiance. It looked again like a message about his future and a thank you to Wor Flags, who produce a brilliant Brazilian display in the Gallowgate before kick off.
Isak wrapped up his brace just after the hour mark after Gordon was felled in the box, with the Swedish striker slotting home the spot-kick calmly to move level with Demba Ba's Premier League goal tally for the Toon.
The Blades were a shadow of their first-half selves in the second period and this was reflected on the 65th minute bundled own-goal by Ben Osborne who somehow managed to chop a backheel into the net after a scramble in the box.
Seven minutes later we had another after subs Barnes and Wilson combined to deadly effect. Wilson smashed the ball home for his eighth of the season and it was good to see him back among the goals.
For all we were poor in the first half, we were clinical and effective in the second. The gulf in quality was visible and Bruno’s goal deflated the visitors, who were relegated as a result of the 5-1 defeat.
A great day for Newcastle United after a worrying start to the afternoon, as we ran riot while Man Utd slipped up. Next up for the Toon, a trip to Burnley next weekend before a return to St James' Park to face Brighton in two weeks time.
NUFC XI: Dubravka - Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall - Longstaff, Bruno, Anderson - Murphy, Isak, Gordon.
SUBS: Karius, Dummett, Wilson, Ritchie, Barnes, Krafth, White, A Murphy, Parkinson
