Saint-Maximin has maximum impact for Toon
THE bruised and brilliant Allan Saint- Maximin was back in the dressing room by the time Callum Wilson made sure of victory with his second of the night but there was no doubting the inspiration behind Newcastle’s elevation into the top six of the Premier League.
The French winger was again outstanding, scoring the opener and laying on Wilson’s first after Burnley had equalised through Ashley Westwood.
Saint-Maximin’s superiority and the win it caused has brought calm after a stormy few days on Tyneside, in which Bruce angrily rejected criticism over his tactics. But his players, and Saint-Maximin in particular, responded here.
For Burnley boss Sean Dyche, meanwhile, this is a third straight defeat from the onset of the season, the first time the club have suffered such a start for 93 years in the top flight.
Both managers, then, could have done with victory. But only one of them had Saint-Maximin among their number.
As one Newcastle fan account pointed out on social media in the minutes before kick-off, the thrills and intrigue of Marcelo Bielsa versus Pep Guardiola in the teatime start was now being followed by the primetime offering of Bruce versus Dyche.
But Saint-Maximin can illuminate any contest, a maverick who overrides debate about formations and style.
He was the difference nce on countless occa- sions last season, salvaging points when perhaps less were deserved.
With him in the team Newcastle always have a chance, it does not matter what has gone ne before.
Indeed, in the opening ing 14 minutes it was Burnley who twice threatened, Karl Darlow tipping a low drive from Dwight McNeil around the post before saving James Tarkowski’s header from the resulting corner. That took his seasonal save count to 20, the highest in the division.
There was little chance of Nick Pope keeping out Saint-Maximin’s smash at the other end, however. But the goal was far more than the 16-yard finish. Striker Wilson had outmuscled Kevin Long — Burnley claimed a free-kick but it wasn’t — allowing Saint-Maximin to gather 45 yards from goal. You knew what he was going to do, and so did Burnley. Stopping him is a different story. And so Saint-Maximin drove at a retreating backline, turning three Burnley defenders inside and out before locating the bottom corner. It meant Newcastle had scored with all four of their efforts on target this season and that tally would have read five from five had Wilson not skidded his header wide when unmarked j ust si x yards out on the half hour. Burnley f i nal l y got to grips with Saint-Maximin, well at least Phil Bardsley’s studs did, the right back scraping his tormentor’s achilles in crude fashion and, remarkably, escaping caution. Dyche sent out his players a good five minutes early for the second half and the manner in which they started — aggressive and animated — perhaps reflected their manager’s interval irritation.
Within minutes Chris Wood drew a flying save from Darlow after flashing a header on goal from Ashley Barnes’ near-post delivery.
It was better from Burnley but it could hardly have been any worse than what they offered during the final half hour of the first half. The improvement certainly rattled Newcastle, who set up camp in their own penalty area, much to Bruce’s frustration.
Burnley’s Their leveller, then, was entirely expected. Bardsley centred from the right and, when Federico Fernandez could only head clear as far as Westwood, the skipper returned a volley of such venom that it may well have taken Darlow into the net with it.
As it was, the keeper got nowhere near i t , not t hat he could be blamed.
But parity survived just four minutes and Saint-Maximin burned by Charlie Taylor on the right wing before delivering for Wilson to turn in from two yards.
Pope then conceded the penalty from which Wilson chipped home his fourth of the season.
It was an awful error, too, a heavy touch allowing Ryan Fraser to steal and the keeper responded with a desperate lunge to fell the substitute.
Desperate could just about sum up Burnley’s plight right now.