Rafa’s Ron A roll!
SAL’S STRIKE KEEPS MAGPIES FLYING AWAY BUT IT’S HOME HURT FOR WAG
NEWCASTLE boss Rafa Benitez must be tempted to apply for permanent residence away from St James’ Park after his side’s latest win on the road.
While they have lost an alarming seven of nine matches in front of their own fans, the Magpies’ form on their travels is proving to be their Premier League salvation.
This was their fourth away game unbeaten and outside Manchester, where they suffered one-goal defeats to both clubs, they have prospered.
Benitez was delighted his gameplan came off so effectively in Huddersfield yesterday.
He said: “It is totally different the way teams play against you away from home and in this case, we knew they would be pushing on the front foot and we had to exploit the space behind.
“You have to praise our players who defended really well against a physically strong side.
“We had more control in the second half and did well on the counter-attack.”
There was nothing pretty about this win, the perfect antidote to successive home losses, which lifts Newcastle six points above the drop zone.
It came courtesy of Salomon Rondon’s sweetly executed fourth goal of the season in the 55th minute.
And the crafted build-up was in stark contrast to much of the football on offer from both sides on a biting West Yorkshire afternoon.
The ball was worked from keeper through defence to Ayoze Perez who fed Javier Manquillo on his inside and the full-back strode into the box before angling a weighted pass to Rondon. The Venezuelan ace stabbed the ball home with his left foot. “It was a great team goal and something we have been working on,” said Benitez.
“Rondon is doing what we brought him here to do – hold the ball up and score goals.”
Huddersfield had edged a fiercely fought contest before the goal but they are a side who have not scored more than once on home soil in 14 games.
As a result, their spirit understandably sagged after they went behind.
Chris Lowe forced Toon keeper Martin Dubravka into a full-length save but for the last half an hour, it was more perspiration than inspiration from the struggling Terriers.
“The result is harsh and disappointing,” said Huddersfield boss David Wagner.
“We dominated the game and defended on the front foot but we could not come back after their goal.
“Newcastle are a well-drilled team and difficult to break down.”
Twice in the first half, the stadium’s floodlights had flickered, momentarily dimming events on the pitch.
It was tempting to suggest they still carried more spark than most of the players on the pitch.
If Benitez measures Newcastle against those he regards as relegation rivals, then at half-time, he had reasons for concern. Huddersfield are a hard-working yet limited outfit but for long periods before the break, they held the upper hand, winning the midfield skirmishes and dominating both territory and possession of the ball.
Yet in the final third, they are threadbare. Two wonderful crosses from Florent Hadergjonaj demanded appropriate finishes but on each occasion there was no one in the middle.
Danish powerhouse Phillip Billing was at the heart of all good things from the hosts, driving forward with menacing intent.
It was from one such burst that Huddersfield had the game’s first chance. Billing fed Alex Pritchard whose cross was volleyed into the turf from the edge of the box by Lowe and flashed narrowly wide.
Billing brought a wonderful save out of Dubravka 10 minutes later, the Toon keeper flinging himself to his right to push away his 30-yard free-kick.
Newcastle offered very little as an attacking force in those 45 minutes.
The Terriers’ Juninho Bacuna put his keeper in trouble with a careless pass but Jonas Lossl drove bravely at the feet of Christian Atsu, hurting himself in the process, to smother the ball.
Lossl got his angles right again in the 25th minute to block a Fabian Schar effort after Ki found him with a lofted pass.
Towards the end of the first half, Schar tried his luck with a 45-yard free-kick and had Lossl nervously back-pedalling before the ball cleared the bar.
Atsu twice tested Lossl early in the second half but once Rondon struck, the Toon tactic was containment – and they carried it off with few alarms.