Magic Magpies
Benitez leads Toon Army back to Premier League at first attempt
Newcastle United are back in the Premier League. Rafael Benítez’s side sealed promotion last night with a victory that also leaves them with a slight chance of pipping Brighton to the Championship title.
Not that Benítez will be unduly concerned if Newcastle don’t finish top of the table. Promotion was his only target and they achieved it through two goals from Ayoze Pérez, another from Christian Atsu and a Matt Ritchie penalty.
While Benítez has experienced many memorable occasions in his coaching career, this was plainly a special night for the Spaniard, who joined his players in a lap of honour after the final whistle and took photographs with his staff.
More than 50,000 Newcastle fans stayed to hail their heroes, but – as always with this club – uncertainty surrounded the future after Benítez resisted the opportunity to guarantee he would stay at the club.
“You never know, that’s football,” he said. “I’m very happy and very proud for everything we have achieved. Hopefully, we have the foundations that can guarantee the future. We need to enjoy this day and afterwards we will see.”
The message is clear: Benítez will not commit himself to a long-term future here unless he is given substantial backing from owner Mike Ashley to create a squad capable of doing more than just surviving in the Premier League.
Ashley was not at last night’s game when Benítez finally silenced those who had questioned whether he would be able to handle the demands of the Championship. “It feels really good,” he said.
“I’m really proud of everyone because we knew it would be difficult at the beginning, when everyone was saying, ‘Rafa has no experience of the Championship and it will be tough’. They were right, it was very difficult, but the commitment and hard work of the players every day, and the staff and everyone involved, and then the support of the fans, has made a massive difference.
“It is a day we have to remember because it is not easy to go down, and then come straight back up first time. We know that from experience. We have 88 points, and that says it all. We have had decisions that have been a little bit special, and we could be higher with more points. But we are where we are, and we have to be pleased to go up and try to enjoy it.”
The victory was not as comfortable as the scoreline suggests, typical of a season when Newcastle’s patchy home form prevented them breaking clear of their chief pursuers, Huddersfield Town and Reading, who have failed to take advantage in recent weeks.
They made the perfect with a goal after only seven minutes when Matt Ritchie’s corner was headed on by Jamaal Lascelles and Pérez capitalised from close range, but this is a team that had lost five times at home this season.
Benítez’s players exasperated him yet again with their failure to hold on to a lead. Not for the first time this season, slack marking at the heart of United’s defence proved costly as Jordan Hugill was allowed to steer in a cross from Tom Barkhuizen for a goal that altered the mood in St James’ Park until the final moments of the half.
Aleksandar Mitrovic, scorer of four goals against Preston this season, was involved after an incisive run by Isaac Hayden gave him the opportunity to deliver a first-time cross that presented Atsu with his fourth goal of the season.
Preston’s resistance ended, though, midway through the half after Paul Gallagher handled a shot from Hayden on the line and was sent off. Ritchie slotted in the penalty for his 16th goal of the season and Pérez added his second in the 67th minute after Jonjo Shelvey’s corner rebounded off his body.
Simon Grayson, the Preston manager, was the first to congratulate Benítez. “They deserve to be back in the Premier League,” he said. “But they haven’t had to work hard to win this game. We gifted them a lot of goals. We were masters of our own downfall.”
Newcastle United (4-2-3-1) Elliot; Anita, Lascelles, Clark, Dummett; Shelvey (Colback 76), Hayden; Atsu (Gouffran 68), Perez (Murphy 83), Ritchie. Subs Darlow, Diame, Mbemba, Yedlin. Booked Ritchie, Shelvey. Preston North End (4-5-1) Maxwell; Browning, Huntington, Boyle, Spurr; McGeady (Horgan 72), Browne, Gallagher, Johnson, Barkhuizen; Hugill. Subs Lindegaard, Vermijl, Pringle, May, Robinson, Beckford. Booked Browning. Sent off Gallagher. Referee A Madley (West Yorkshire).