Miley’s talk of the Toon
Teenager makes history as Newcastle get back on track
TO FULLY appreciate the tender years of Newcastle’s Lewis Miley, consider that he was just 13 during the first Covid-19 lockdown. Here, he was the remedy to his boyhood club’s injury epidemic. He is also now their youngest ever Premier League scorer.
In becoming so, he changed the narrative of an afternoon that was threatening to run negative for Eddie Howe’s side. How they needed a win after three straight defeats, the last of which against Milan in midweek saw them crash out of Europe.
And, for almost an hour, this felt like a bumpy landing. After suffering two more injuries before halftime, the insult would have been failing to beat 10-man Fulham, who had Raul Jimenez dismissed in the first half.
The visitors were just starting to bolt the door when Bruno Guimaraes barged through it and teed up substitute Miley, who slammed his first senior goal from eight yards.
At 17 years and 229 days, he replaced James Milner as Newcastle’s youngest Premier League scorer. Given what we have seen of Miley in recent months, he could well go on to enjoy just as decorated a career. Miguel Almiron and Dan Burn added goals before fulltime to varnish a scoreline that looked unlikely before Miley’s intervention — comfortably uncomfortable just about captures this game for Howe and Newcastle.
But if their injuries are starting to feel like a curse, the emergence of Miley has been a blessing. You could call him a star in the making, but this kid looks ready-made.
‘I’m delighted for him,’ said Howe. ‘We have seen that composure, with an assist against Chelsea and an assist against Milan, but to have that composure to score a massive goal, in front of the Gallowgate End, is something else.
‘We tried to give him a rest today because we need to protect him, but he was shoved back into action because of the injuries picked up and showed how mentally switched on he is. What I like the most about him is that he’s emotionless on the pitch, and I mean that as a compliment. He doesn’t beat himself up when things go wrong and he didn’t let the goal go to his head either, he carried on doing the right things. That’s the hallmark of a great player.’
But amid the joy of the teenager’s impact, after he replaced the injured Joelinton, and a win that returns Newcastle to the top six, Howe is counting the cost of fresh injuries. Alexander Isak missed out with a groin issue and the loss of Fabian Schar, who pulled up with a muscle strain and went off after 14 minutes, meant four of Newcastle’s customary back five were absent.
The makeshift backline’s afternoon was made a lot easier when Jimenez was sent off in the 20th minute. His airborne backside collided with Sean Longstaff’s face and, after a VAR review, referee Sam Barrott’s yellow card was upgraded to red.
Fulham boss Marco Silva later fumed: ‘In my opinion, it was a strange and poor performance from the referee, from the first minute to the last. I am not talking just about the red card, it was the way he managed the whole game. Before the red card, (Jamaal) Lascelles did a clear elbow on Raul. If they go to VAR, it is a clear elbow, but it was not even a foul.’
Fulham, in fairness, did OK with 10 men, but once Miley’s goal had raised the roof, their bright pink colours were lowered.
Almiron converted from close range on 64 minutes and Burn turned in after Bernd Leno saved his initial header. Man of the match Guimaraes supplied the cross for Burn.
There was, however, no doubting the darling of the home crowd: Lewis Miley is one of their own.