Benitez warns of slog on the Tyne
Toon lucky to get point at Palace
THIS is how Newcastle have to do it now. They have to scrap, wrestle, pull shirts and scratch their way to points like this.
It was grubby, it was fortunate in its way and it was awfully hard won, like a penny from Mike Ashley’s pockets. But that is what Newcastle will need to do 12 more times to survive now that there are no apparitions in the transfer window who might save them. Instead all Rafa Benitez got were three loan deals and a sense that the next three months will be a slog.
It has been until now and it will be all the way to the line, just as this game was. The funny thing is, this one, on the basis of scorelines alone, might look like two points dropped because Newcastle led through Mohamed Diame at half-time. They were good in that 45 minutes, too.
But make no mistake, this was a point saved because once Luka Milivojevic had levelled with a penalty, Palace were swarming all over Newcastle. Karl Darlow made good saves, Ciaran Clark made two blocks on the line in one move — 21 shots all told for Roy Hodgson’s side.
So a point is good for Newcastle and also a warning that any others in this relegation battle will have to come from the same kind of wars, which Benitez knows.
‘We have to stay calm and do what we have to do: fight, work as hard as we did today, and we’ll have chances to win more games,’ he said.
He will be helped from here by Islam Slimani, his deadline-day loan striker, who will be fit in the coming days after missing this one with a thigh injury. And there is promise in Kenedy as well, because the Chelsea loanee was decent here on the wing until he tired. But in the absence of spending money from Ashley, the next three months will be harder than they needed to be.
On the subject of season transformations, Palace remain perfect role models. This result was ‘frustrating’, according to Hodgson, but it is telling that since his side were beaten by Newcastle in October, they have lost only three of 17 league games.
He said: ‘When you’re one of those bottom clubs you don’t drop points because you don’t have the points to drop. The top teams drop points. We gain points. Sometimes we gain two less than we would like or maybe deserved. I thought we were a bit unlucky not to claim three points.’
The first half was good fun. Palace shaded the chances before Newcastle took the lead on 22 minutes. The delivery was sent in low by Kenedy, Ayoze Perez got a faint touch to flick along the six-yard box and Diame finished at the back post.
Palace were level on 55 minutes, with Andre Marriner calling a penalty on the advice of his assistant after Clark had tugged Christian Benteke’s shirt as he attempted to reach a Wilfried Zaha cross.
Darlow got a solid hand on Milivojevic’s kick but couldn’t stop it. Benitez questioned the award of the penalty but thereafter Palace dominated. James McArthur, Zaha, Benteke — they were lining up.