Kenedy and Shelvey lift the mood at Newcastle
IT IS on afternoons like this when you wonder why Jonjo Shelvey is so readily cast aside as a former England player, just as much as you wonder whether team-mate Kenedy will be a future Brazil star. There may be questions over Shelvey’s temperament — his two red cards outnumber his one goal this season — but his commitment and class are not in doubt. On Monday of last week, Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez had as good as ruled him out of contention for this match, the midfielder having come so close to season-ending knee damage in a collision with his own goalkeeper last month. But Shelvey took to the training pitches and started running. In fact, he did not stop running in an effort to prove his fitness to Benitez. The irony, of course, is that Shelvey does not need to run hard to be at his most effective — afford him possession and he will make the ball do the hard yards for him. How many of England’s current midfielders have a range of passing as extensive as his? The answer is none. Two of the five chances Shelvey created here resulted in goals, the first for Kenedy after 63 seconds and then for Matt Ritchie before the hour. He walked off to a standing ovation and Benitez will be hoping that three weeks until their next match allows him to rest. Shelvey won’t, he wants an England recall nearly 30 months on from the last of his six caps. Newcastle climbed to 13th and five points clear of danger, and the good energy that was coursing through St James’ Park was also provided by Chelsea loanee Kenedy, who overcame a midweek fitness scare to feature. There is a fearless naivety about the 22year-old and his daring is exactly what Benitez’s side had been missing until his January arrival, since when they have lost only one of six. Kenedy’s opener appeared to defy physics, as he chested Shelvey’s dropping pass back up in the air, then spun before volleying home. He turned in an easier second from a few yards out, but had shown ambition to make the burst into the goalmouth and got his reward. After one win in 17 the Southampton players were accused of ‘giving up’ by manager Mauricio Pellegrino, who was booed as he got on the team coach afterwards.
NEWCASTLE (4-4-1-1): Dubravka 6.5; Yedlin 6.5, Lascelles 6.5, Lejeune 7, Dummett 7.5; Ritchie 7, Shelvey 8 (Merino 82), Diame 7, KENEDY 8.5 (Atsu 78, 6); Perez 6.5; Gayle 7 (Joselu 69, 6). Subs not used: Darlow, Clark, Murphy, Manquillo. Scorers: Kenedy 2, 29, Ritchie 57. Manager: Rafa Benitez 7. SOUTHAMPTON (4-2-3-1): McCarthy 5; Soares 4.5, Stephens 5, Hoedt 4.5, Bertrand 5.5; Hojbjerg 5, Lemina 4 (Sims 46, 5); WardProwse 5.5, Tadic 4 (Long 46, 5), Redmond 5; Carrillo 4.5 (Gabbiadini 66, 5). Subs not used: Forster, Romeu, Boufal, Bednarek. Booked: Hoedt, Stephens. Manager: Mauricio Pellegrino 4. Referee: Andre Marriner 7. Attendance: 52,246.