Newcastle 2-1 Wolves: Premier League – as it happened
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Louise Taylor has filed her match report, so I’m going to wrap things up. Thanks for your company and emails – goodnight.
Post-match reaction
Kieran Trippier
It’s a nice feeling to get the win. The past few weeks have been difficult for us players to take. We know how important today was for us - Alex was back in the side, and he played unbelievable.
[On the Wolves goal] It was poor from me really. We’ve got great togetherness in the squad, and my teammates picked me up when I needed it. That’s what team sport’s all about, and I’m thankfully to Miggy for putting the ball in the net.
Alexander Isak
[Did you feel ike you were approaching your best today?] Yeah yeah yeah yeah. I’ve been wanting to play more, but that’s given me a bit of fuel so I was happy to start today and happy that we got the three points as well.
I’ve had to be patient but I’ve been working hard – the team have been playing well but we haven’t got the results. Today was all about winning. [How good was Trippier’s ball for the goal?] Yeah yeah, I was happy to have him as my assist man today! He has a great right foot, and it was a good header as well.
The substitute Miguel Almiron settled an entertaining game that had plenty of incident and a bit of controversy. Nick Pope should have been given away a penalty and been sent off for a foul on Raul Jimenez in the first half, but the VAR team had a big Sunday lunch and who can blame a fellow for drifting off after a surfeit of roast potatoes?
The game was defined by managerial changes, before and during. Alexander Isak, who replaced Callum Wilson in the Newcastle XI, scored the opening goal and ran Wolves ragged at times.
Hwang Hee-chan equalised for Wolves within seconds of coming off the bench, but then Julen Lopetegui switched to three centre-backs and surrendered much of the initiative. A few minutes later, Almiron scored the winner for Newcastle.
Full time: Newcastle 2-1 WolvesPeep peep! A crucial win for Newcastle, their first in the league in two months, moves them above Liverpool into fifth place.
90+5 min One last corner for Wolves…
90+4 min: Great chance for Botman! It should be all over. Almiron takes a short corner, then runs onto a brilliant flick from Guimaraes and into the area. He gets to the byline and cuts the ball back to Botman, who wafts over from eight yards.
90+2 min Bruno Guimaraes does superbly to win the ball off Ait-Nouri and then wait for the inevitable foul as Ait-Nouri tries to regain possession.
90 min There will be five minutes of added time. Newcastle continue to manage the game very well.
87 min You never know in football – see Romania 2-1 England, 1998 – but it feels like Newcastle have got this covered. They’ve been energised by the goal and are dominating more than at any stage in the second half.
85 min: Newcastle substitution Matt Ritchie replaces Jacob Murphy.
84 min Now it’s Newcastle who are controlling the game, keeping Wolves pinned back. Wolves haven’t been the same since Julen Lopetegui switched to three centre-backs. Has anyone?
83 min “I was surprised to see, when I looked at the table, that Wolves are only three points from the drop zone,” says Kári Tulinius. “A draw would be psychologically crucial, I think, they wouldn’t have more than a single win’s worth of cushion.”
On that note, who coined the phrase ‘dop zone’, and should we hunt them down?
80 min That might go down as an own goal by Kilman, as I’m not sure certain Almiron’s shot was on target. We haven’t seen a definitive angle though.
This is a huge goal for Newcastle, celebrated wildly by the scorer. He owes a big thank you to Willock, who was surrounded on the edge of the Wolves area but calmly made space to angle a pass through to the unmarked Almiron on the right side of the area. He took a touch and sidefooted a shot across goal that deflected off the stretching Kilman and flew past Sa at the near post.
GOAL! Newcastle 2-1 Wolves (Almiron 79)Miguel Almiron’s St James’ Park goal drought is over!
78 min “You could see that equaliser coming,” says Chris Paraskevas. “Naive of Howe and his team to think they could see it out, given how fragile our form has been. Big ask to get a winner now, given Wilson’s struggles after ticking the World Cup off his career bucket list. If anything I think Wolves could sneak this (they beat Millwall 2-0 that day in London...circa 2013).”
The contrast in approach with the last really good Newcastle teams, under Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson, is fascinating.
77 min At the moment, Wolves look the likelier winners, and there’s a nervous atmosphere around St James’ Park.
74 min: Wolves substitution Nathan Collins replaces Joao Moutinho, which means a switch to five at the back.
74 min Although the manner of the goal was unfortunate, Newcastle have been punished for sitting on a one-goal lead. They were too passive from the start of the second half.
73 min Newcastle appeal for a penalty when Schar goes over in the area after a slight shove from Jimenez. No dice.
71 min Trippier has had a fantastic game, so that was a cruel twist.
It was a messy goal, not that Wolves will care. Hwang was pulled back on the edge of the D but the referee played a good advantage. He forced the ball into the area, where Trippier slipped while attempting to clear. In doing so he took the ball away from Pope and gave an open goal to Hwang, who couldn’t believe his luck.
GOAL! Newcastle 1-1 Wolves (Hwang 70)Hwang equalises within seconds of coming on!
69 min: Triple Wolves substitution Hwang Hee-chan, Matheus Nunes and Rayan Ait-Nouri replace Daniel Podence, Ruben Neves and Jonny.
68 min: Double substitution for Newcastle Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron replace Alexander Isak, who was outstanding, and Allan Saint-Maximin.
Isak was booked for something or other just before leaving the field.
67 min I think there’s a medical emergency in the crowd but the match is continuing. A couple of Newcastle corners come to nothing.
64 min: Good save from Pope! Pedro Neto uses the overlapping Semedo by not using him and waves an outside-of-the-boot cross towards the far post. The backpedalling Trippier can only head it as far as Moutinho, who cracks an instant volley towards the bottom corner. Pope gets down really smartly to his right to push it away; that’s his best save of the game.
64 min Wolves have had 72 per cent of the possession since half-time.
63 min Pedro Neto has produced a few really classy touches since coming on at half-time. Meanwhile, Podence’s corner is cleared only as far as Neves on the edge of the area. He takes a touch, which takes him slightly away from goal, and then welts the bouncing ball into orbit.
60 min Semedo’s dangerous cross is headed behind by Trippier, under pressure from Neves at the far post. Good defending.
59 min Trippier decides to go for goal from the free-kick, an audacious attempt that is pushed away to his left by Sa. It was a comfortable enough save in the end.
58 min: Good save from Pope! The ball is touched off for Neto, whose fierce rising drive is beaten away well by Pope.
Newcastle break and Murphy is taken out by Semedo, who is booked. The home crowd wanted a red card. Semedo was the last man, but Murphy was going slightly away from goal and I suspect Lemina would have got back.
57 min Podence tricks Guimaraes on the edge of the D and is fouled, giving Wolves a decent opportunity. The free-kick is slightly to the right of centre, with Moutinho and Neto over the ball.
55 min Another buccaneering run from Isak ends when he stumbles over on the edge of the area. Wolves break through Podence, who gets to within 25 yards of the Newcastle goal before being beautifully dispossessed by Schar.
Newcastle counter the counter, and Willock smashes a shot from a tight angle that is beaten away by Jose Sa.
54 min Wolves are having more of the ball, but they’re not really threatening. As Jamie Carragher says on Sky Sports, it’s hard to reconcile Wolves’ scoring record with the quality of their attacking players: Podence, Jimenez, Neto, Moutinho and Neves all know how to treat a football.
