PRESSURE PILES ON PARDEW
West Brom go down at home to Huddersfield
It looked certain to be another tactical masterclass from Rafa Benitez. Two weeks after his players showed faultless concentration in their defeat of Manchester United, for 79 minutes they were repeating the feat on the freezing South Coast.
The Toon Army were buoyant – some even shirtless. Dwight Gayle’s first-half double had propelled them to the dizzy heights of 10th and when Jonjo Shelvey lined up to fire into the top corner, they were preparing to celebrate a third 11 minutes from time.
But the ball flew over and a minute later Adam Smith had scored for Bournemouth, before the inevitable equaliser came a minute from time, courtesy of Dan Gosling.
“We should have been talking today about a great game and three points,” shrugged Benitez.
“Everybody is disappointed, especially him [Shelvey]. Today we did everything for winning the game. We miss a chance, we concede a goal and then we lost the control we had for 70 minutes. This can happen, especially in the Premier League.”
It was cruel on Benitez and on Jamaal Lascelles in the Magpies defence, who was again impressive and did his claims for international consideration no harm at all.
The Newcastle captain shows athleticism and composure in equal measure and is surely worthy of inclusion in a position where Gareth Southgate does not have an abundance of riches.
But Bournemouth, too, should be praised for their resilience. They started and ended the game as the bet- ter side, but lost their way after Gayle opened the scoring as he turned in Matt Ritchie’s low cross after an excellent pass from Shelvey.
Asmir Begovic might have done better as he flailed at the ball with his legs, but Gayle’s second is the one he definitely will not wish to watch the tape of. Ayoze Perez again crossed low from the right and Begovic went to gather it. Instead, the ball flew past his legs to Gayle, who again tapped home from all of two yards.
Eddie Howe made no criticism of his goalkeeper, whose from this season he described as “brilliant”.
Job done? No. After the break, things continued to unfold according to Benitez’s plan.
The away side soaked up the pressure, with Mohamed Diame and Shelvey composed at the base of midfield and Lascelles marshalling those behind them. Martin Dubravka, who so excelled on his debut against Manchester United, again looked calm and composed. With Islam Slimani still to return from injury, the little January business Benitez was able to conclude looks shrewd. But then Christian Atsu raced free and passed the ball across goal to Shelvey, and his egregious miss followed.
Bournemouth have shown they have plenty of pluck in the three years they have spent in the top flight and this was the moment to prove it.
Josh King and Lewis Cook combined to set up Smith and the full-back fired high into the net from 20 yards.
Even then, Lascelles’s calming influence seemed to be warding off panic in the face of immense pressure. Gosling had been reasonably anonymous in a match where the midfield third was dominated by Newcastle. But the Bournemouth man found himself in the right place at the right time to smash Nathan Ake’s pass into the top corner from close range and raise the temperature inside the ground.
“I think my heart this season had been tested to the max,” smiled Howe. “Today was tough. We weren’t very good for 70 minutes to be honest but once again I have to praise the spirit, the attitude of the players to come back.
“It didn’t look like we were going to find a way to open them up, but suddenly the game looked different and in the final 20 minutes we were able to turn the screw. Defeat to Huddersfield and Newcastle would have left us in a difficult position. It was a massive 20 minutes for us.”
Gosling’s goal drastically changed the look of the table. It left Bournemouth 10th while Newcastle, following that 10-minute lapse, dropped back to 15th.
Lots to think about for the visitors on their 705-mile round trip. Next up is a daunting trip to Anfield as Benitez returns to one of his former clubs.
“If you talk about the last two games, the team is doing well. In the Premier League sometimes the strikers are so good that there is nothing you can do,” said Benitez, presumably with Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino in mind. “But we have confidence that we can do well.”
In a season like no other for its unpredictability so late on, both Bournemouth and Newcastle remain among the teams – of which there are arguably 13 – still vying to secure their Premier League future.
The true value of Gosling’s goal and cost of Shelvey’s miss are unlikely to be known until the final day.