Festive cheer for Benitez – despite cancelled party
NEWCASTLE United boss Rafael Benitez praised his players for their hard work after what he described as an important 1-0 win at Huddersfield Town.
In a contest that saw the hosts boss possession and have more efforts on goal than the Magpies, what proved the winner came in the 55th minute when Salomon Rondon’s strike finished off a break.
Newcastle – a day after it emerged they had cancelled their Christmas party – celebrated a first win in four matches and only their fourth victory all season as they rose a place to 14th in the Premier League table, six points clear of the 18th-placed Terriers. Benitez said: “I am really pleased with the three points. We played against a team we knew would be on the front foot from the beginning, would be pushing, would be high and would leave so much space, and then we have to exploit that.
“The idea was to try to exploit the space we had behind, be dangerous on the counter attack and defend well against a team that physically is very strong and they were making crosses, throw-ins, corners and freekicks. You have to defend everything, and we did it.
“It is quite important for us. We know they are a good team, that they work really hard and will do it from the beginning until the end of the season. It is important to focus on the next one (home to Fulham next Saturday).”