ARE GETTING NARKY, SPARKY
MARK HUGHES was an exasperated manager on the touchline.
All around him, chanted “Hughes out.”
He gestured, shouted, barked orders and threw his hands up in despair. But there was precious little response from his team until a frantic last five minutes and injury time, punting the ball into the visitors’ box.
Disgruntled supporters, fed up at the disjointed, shapeless mess their team had become, pulled out signs echoing the chants, from their pockets.
Hughes has had a supportive boss in chairman Peter Coates, but that loyalty is being severely tested.
The coming days, and perhaps the availability of a decent successor, will determine whether Hughes’ fiveyear bond with Stoke will be broken.
Hughes said the protests and discontent were “to be expected.”
He added: “The team needs to be better, and then the noise goes away if you win. We didn’t win today so we get criticised.
“The agenda in the media, and social media... that is what was going Stoke fans to happen. It doesn’t bother me. We are disappointed in ourselves.
People are disappointed because of the high standards set by me and my staff, and we are below them.”
Whatever happens in the short term, Hughes needs to find a convincing explanation as to why Stoke are so poor.
It was Ayoze Perez who heaped the pressure on grabbing the points with a 73rd-minute breakaway goal.
Newcastle have had struggles of their own and it was only their second win in 13 games.
While that eased the anxiety on Tyneside as Newcastle rose to 13th place, with lowly Swansea up next – Hughes looks vulnerable.
Resting key players, and virtually giving up on a result at Chelsea on Saturday, was supposed to provide a winning boost here.
But that gamble backfired. Newcastle, exploiting space away from home again, were superior all game and had most of the chances.
Perez smashed home to finish off a counter-attack that characterised Newcastle’s dominance.
Jacob Murphy, a £12million summer buy, galloped into space down the right then maintained his surge. He then planted an inchperfect cross in behind the retreating defence, which Perez pounced on.
Stoke pressed for a leveller. Mame Biram Diouf went closest with a volley Karl Darlow did well to tip away. Darlow also made a heroic save five minutes from time from Diouf ’s close-ranger.
Ultimately it was Stoke’s sixth loss in 10 games with just two wins and they are in relegation trouble.
Benitez has mixed and matched his starting XI constantly this season and chose another unpredictable line-up two days after drawing with Brighton. But his tinkering worked. Christian Atsu played as a striker creating problems with his pace although he missed three chances – the best after Deandre Yedlin flew to the byline and crossed.
City went closest through Charlie Adam’s 35-yard free-kick which was palmed away by Darlow.
Newcastle missed an incredible chance from a corner and Perez’s flick-on. Ciaran Clark had a tap -in at the far post two yards out, with the goal empty, but fired over the bar.
Benitez feared Newcastle would regret not scoring when on top, and Stoke’s
Eric Maxim
Choupomoting smashed a fine shot
Darlow tipped over.
But Toon sub Dwight Gayle had a penalty appeal waved away after Kurt Zouma appeared to bundle him over.
Moments later Perez struck, and Newcastle claimed their seventh point in four Christmas games. “It’s a Happy New Year for the fans,” said Benitez.