FOOTBALL EDITOR IAN LADYMAN ON NEWCASTLE v TOTTENHAM
Classy Alli puts stamp on Spurs’ victory after Newcastle star is given red card
LIFE in the Premier League was always going to be hard for Newcastle United. Newly promoted and unable to improve the squad as much as manager Rafael Benitez would like, an opening game against Tottenham called for unity, togetherness and maybe some common sense, too.
For 48 minutes at St James’ Park, Newcastle had it right. Nothing special but they were never likely to be. They remain essentially a Championship team and against last season’s Premier League runners-up, it was always going to be a case of muddling through.
But, yes, they just about had it right for a while. They sat deep and played on the counter. In the opening 45 minutes, they restricted Tottenham to pretty much one decent chance. At half-time, Benitez would not have been disappointed.
In football, though, things change. Games turn on the back of great skill, a piece of luck or a mistake. They can also turn on moments of madness and that happened here.
There had been no spite in the game beforehand. Harry Kane had been booked for a lunge at Florian Lejeune and it looked bad but the Tottenham striker was at least trying to win the ball.
Jonjo Shelvey, however, was not going for the ball when he trod on Dele Alli in that 48th minute. Seemingly irked by Alli’s previous refusal to give him the ball during a break in play, Shelvey almost casually walked on his opponent’s ankle as he prepared to restart the game.
There was no stamp and Alli recovered enough to score Spurs’ first goal. Shelvey looked stunned when referee Andre Marriner produced the red card.
But did the 25-year-old do it on purpose? It is impossible to construct an argument that he did not. Whether he intended to injure Alli is not the point. It was a red-card offence and pretty much decided the game.
On TV, Graeme Souness, no stranger to colourful moments, said Shelvey had gone ‘from captain to clown in 10 minutes’. On Twitter, former Newcastle captain Alan Shearer called Shelvey ‘pathetic’.
Condemnation arrives quickly these days but Shelvey is experienced. He will have known the gravity of his sin by the time he reached the dressing room where, we are led to believe, he later apologised to his team-mates.
Certainly, Shelvey had left his team adrift. Tottenham have their own issues but their gifted group of players were then far too strong for a depleted Newcastle team.
Newcastle had lost two players to injury during the first half. Paul Dummett suffered a hamstring pull and then Lejeune departed following Kane’s challenge in the 34th minute.
So, after Shelvey’s dismissal Tottenham faced a side who had twice reorganised their defence and then lost their captain and best midfielder. It was a miracle they scored only two.
The first goal arrived soon after the red card. Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot had saved well from Kane but had no chance when Christian Eriksen landed a cross on Alli’s left foot six yards out.
Alli, connecting on the volley and on the stretch, still managed to find the required softness of touch. The ball was steered back across Elliot and Tottenham had a lead they were never going to give up.
Tottenham did not go on to submerge Newcastle. It was not that kind of performance, but Mauricio Pochettino’s team controlled the game perfectly and Newcastle did not have a hint of an opportunity at the other end until their opponents had doubled their lead.
The unlikely scorer was Wales left back Ben Davies. He had scored just once in the league before yesterday but showed intel- ligence in the 70th minute to follow his own pass into the penalty area and fire home from 12 yards.
St James’ Park felt as if someone had thrown a blanket over it and only a shot into the side-netting by Christian Atsu with 10 minutes left even hinted at a comeback.
There was still time for Kane to strike a post at the death. The England striker is rarely prolific in August and this would have been a good way to change that.
Tottenham did not need his goals this time. Here in the North East, Shelvey did much of their hard work for them.