3 good, 1 bad from Newcastle 2-1 Man Utd

Newcastle United beat twelve-man Manchester Reds 2-1 on Wednesday night with the clear highlight of the match being Will Osula’s brilliant last-minute winner. United had to battle against more inept refereeing, which saw the side inexplicably reduced to ten men in the first half, but were the better side before the sending off regardless.

Our goals came via an Anthony Gordon penalty and the Will Osula belter, and Newton Heath’s goal came via has been Casemiro.

Here’s my three good and one bad from the game:

Good: Better with 11 and better with 10 

All today’s headlines will read “ten-man Newcastle beat Man Utd” but we were the better side with eleven prior to the rank unfair dismissal. We harried, pressed, and created a lot of opportunities before the red card, and we made a side who have been in good form look bang average.

Then United really stepped up and played out of their skin when down to ten men too. The lads covered every blade of grass (to the point of major cramping up), created the better chances, and continued to contain our opponents in the main with just a couple of notable exceptions; and when those transpired, Ramsdale was there to make some excellent saves.

Joelinton was a colossus, Tonali was immense, and Ramsey was playing well too before the card. Osula’s quality late winner was the standout moment of course, as the lad worked so hard to keep the ball in play before cutting inside and unleashing an unstoppable left footed effort in the back of the net. We needed to see a performance like this, and it was a joy to behold.

Good: Trippier rolled back the years

A few of these articles ago, I wrote that Trippier was finished at this level, but against Man Utd he rolled back the years to put in one of his best performances of the season. The former England international was hugely impressive with 88 touches in the game, 16 defensive contributions (including two interceptions & four tackles), won 6/11 ground duels, and grabbed an assist for Osula’s winner (despite the very low xA of 0.09).

He also closed the space’s well, marked his wingers out the game, and marshalled the defence with authority back in the captain’s role. It was a timely reminder of his undoubted quality and with Tino Livramento out for a few more weeks, hopefully the lad from Bury can step up again in the huge games we have coming up and not revert back to the more shaky displays he has put in lately, which, to be fair, is more down to his age than anything else.

Good: Ramsdale’s key role

Despite the clangers Pope dropped in the Everton game, many fans pre-match wondered whether Howe would change the goalkeeper, and thankfully he did, as the side needed Ramsdale’s composure with the ball at his feet especially when down to ten-man.

Concerns continue to surround Ramsdale’s shot stopping ability, but he answered a few of those questions by making big saves from Yoro, Zirkzee, and Cunha. He couldn’t quite manage a clean sheet, but his overall display will give him confidence.

It didn’t quite work out for him when Pope was injured earlier in the season, but this game must give him confidence, and it will be interesting to see whether he gets another run in the side now.

Bad: Awful officiating…again, again & again

I try not to end these articles on a negative, but by my count that’s four domestic games in a row (Villa, Man City, Everton, and Man Utd) that United have had to deal with incompetent, bordering on negligent officiating.

In a way it helped on Wednesday night as the display riled up the crowd to the point of vociferous support, such was the ineptitude with which Peter Bankes refereed this game. Man Utd were the recipients of many soft fouls; were allowed to time waste with impunity and were awarded an additional near ten minutes of injury time when only eight was signalled across the game.

Throw in the embarrassing Ramsey red card for a “dive” that was such a bizarre interpretation of what happened it left most in the ground dumbfounded, and I’m convinced too that the ref wasn’t going to give the penalty and had to be told it was a blatant trip on Gordon.

It’s clear we’ve reached an all-time low in officiating quality in this country and it’s now every week that we see inexplicable decisions made by referees, and the shroud of secrecy with which they are managed only fuels conspiracy theories and accusations of bias which only make the job harder.

Anyway, take nothing away from the performance, United deserved to win this game and it is a real shot in the arm at the start of a six-game run that will define our season. Man City up next in the FA Cup.

Keep the faith. HWTL