Farke rues lost chance as Canaries call shots
THIS was a better result for Newcastle than it was Norwich, who dominated their hosts in every department yet left with a solitary point that does little to boost their survival chances.
Daniel Farke’s side cannot play this well and fail to win, not with games fast running out and the likes of Liverpool, Wolves and Leicester to come before the end of the month.
It said much of how superior they were that full-time brought jeers for Steve Bruce and his team, who lacked imagination and aggression.
But this is how Newcastle have played for the majority of this campaign, the only difference here being the absence of an injury-time winner, as has become their trademark. Bruce, though, will take this, a fourth match unbeaten that lifts them to 10th in the Premier League.
For Farke and Norwich — seven points from safety — it was an opportunity missed, and the German knew it.
‘I have to pick myself up after that,’ he said. ‘I am totally disappointed with the result. Our performance was top class. We controlled everything from the first to last second.
‘All that was missing was the goal, and that’s crucial, we are not brutal enough in front of goal. That’s what we are at the moment. But we have to keep going, to show this attitude and steel. We want to work on our little miracle and we know it is possible.’
Not since November have Newcastle scored in the first half at home and that statistic was rarely in danger of being reversed here.
They had one good chance when Miguel Almiron headed wide from the rebound after Tim Krul had saved a Joelinton effort, but that apart they were typically turgid.
Bruce said: ‘It’s important if you play so poorly then you don’t get beat. From the off, especially in forward areas, we looked jaded.
‘We must offer more on the counter-attack and we weren’t able to cause them enough problems.’
Seven first-half corners told of Norwich’s territorial dominance and, from the first of those on five minutes, Sam Byram was denied by the instinctive palms of Martin Dubravka.
Without Dubravka the Magpies would undoubtedly be in the bottom three and he again produced a finger-tipped save to keep out Teemu Pukki’s half volley. Pukki then broke clear on the half hour and looked odds-on to score until a sliding recovery from Federico Fernandez diverted his goal-bound shot for a corner.
The hosts had no answer to the visiting pressure and Ondrej Duda saw a 20-yard blast deflected onto the roof of the net before Kenny McLean somehow headed wide when unmarked from yet another corner.
Newcastle’s only other effort of note before the hour came via the out-stretched boot of their former defender Grant Hanley, who was spared an own goal by the gloves of Krul, another one-time resident of St James’ Park. A swift Norwich break then brought a chance for Pukki but he volleyed over from 12 yards.
The Finland striker did find the target when sprung clear by Duda but again Dubravka saved. Ciaran Clark almost turned the rebound into his own net and, having scrambled clear, Duda lashed the loose ball into the side-netting.
A cry of ‘Sort it out, Brucie’ was screeched in the direction of the dugout as the home fans grew increasingly vexed.
Bruce’s response was the introduction of debutant Danny Rose but there was to be no late rescue act this time and, come the end, they were grateful for a share of the spoils.