Newcastle 1-0 Southampton: Rusty Toon find a way with 10 men

This is my first match report for NUFC Blog and I’m not entirely sure how I approach it after that exhausting but ultimately successful opening day win at St James' Park.

Do I go down the three points and a clean sheet route? Or do I consider the fact it was a really poor start from Newcastle before we went down to 10? The latter is a concern and hopefully we see signs of improvement in the coming weeks, but it's ultimately a big win on an afternoon that could've gone horribly wrong had we not rallied.

We were defensively solid against a side who dominated the ball without actually threatening the goal. When you consider the defensive performances of last season, that is a huge positive, even if it was clear certain players weren't quite at the races today prior to Fabian Schar's red.

Sitting in the Gallowgate West corner, Schar’s moment of madness was received with a disbelieving response while all the time thinking "VAR will correct the error". When it came through that he was actually sent off the general feeling that he'd messed up by getting involved and added even more urgency to sign a new centre-back. Either way, it was never a red and some pathetic antics from Ben Brereton Diaz.

What followed wasn’t a defensive masterclass but a show of solidarity and resolution. Everyone gave their all and got a deserved three points against a team that will go down. Teams having 75% possession of the ball and barely creating a chance rarely thrive in the Premier League.

I thought Gordon was poor and it’s been awhile since I’ve seen that. I hope it was just a one off and his head has not been turned. Hall had a great pre-season but he looked iffy at left-back, gifting possession back to Southampton in some really poor areas.

What positives can we take from today? A colossal performance from Big Joe, who showed some calmness to his game that I didn’t think existed. Even playing as peace maker in the Schar incident! He covered every blade of grass and together with captain Bruno played a huge role in helping us over the line. Quality was lacking today, but grit and determination to get the win was not.

Dan Burn looked solid at centre half dealing with anything the abysmal Adam Armstrong could throw at him. Nick Pope also made a vital second half stop to deny Armstrong. I doubt we win that game and keep a clean sheet if Dubravka is between the sticks, as we so often saw efforts like that sneap past him last season.

It wasn't the swashbuckling start to the season we envisaged and better days await us, but let’s look at this positively, take the three points and clean sheet as Eddie's Rusty Mags found a way to get the job done in a

Next up, Bournemouth away next Sunday!