MAX POWER FIRES UP TOON
Allan’s the star in Newcastle rout
IF ANYONE needed a reminder of how the world has turned on its head, look no further than Joelinton scoring a Premier League goal. Project Restart promised us football like we had never seen it before, and when Newcastle’s £40million record signing finally found the net, we had the definitive proof.
Before yesterday, Joelinton had never scored at St James’ Park in the top flight, and not at all in the league since August, a barren run of more than 35 hours.
When he scuffed a shot and fell over in the first half, it looked like the new normal was pretty much the same as before for the big Brazilian.
However, the moment Joelinton had waited 10 months for eventually came in the 78th minute at the Gallowgate End. Six yards out and with the goal gaping, it was a chance Newcastle’s No 9, who signed from Hoffenheim last summer, could barely miss.
The relief was etched all over the 23-year-old’s face as he repeatedly punched the ground in celebration.
‘It’s never easy playing with the No 9 shirt for Newcastle,’ said manager Steve Bruce. ‘There is no doubt he has found it tough and he found it tough again today.
‘But thankfully he has got a goal now and hopefully that will make him a lot, lot better. We are delighted for him.’
Joelinton’s strike was the champagne moment on an emphatic afternoon for Newcastle, who ran riot after Sheffield United defender John Egan was sent off five minutes after the break.
It was the biggest win of Bruce’s tenure on Tyneside and it moved his side 11 points clear of the bottom three.
Amid all the uncertainty caused by the proposed Saudi takeover, one thing that should now be clear is that Newcastle will be a Premier League side next season.
Bruce’s future is still in doubt given the potential of new owners and he added: ‘It could only happen to me that we have a 3-0 win and there is nobody in to see it! But I’m sure at their homes, the fans will have a tin of beer to celebrate.’
Sheffield United suffered an injustice in Wednesday’s stalemate at Aston Villa, when Hawk-Eye failed to award a goal when the ball had clearly crossed the line, but yesterday they had nobody to blame but themselves. They remain two points behind fifth-placed Manchester United in their quest for European football.
Blades boss Chris Wilder said: ‘I’m sick and tired of people talking about the Champions League and what a great season we have had. This is what is happening in the present and at the moment we have produced two bang average performances.
‘There is no flow to our play, which there was in the period leading to the lockdown. It’s a double whammy — we are not that fluent and we are making mistakes.’
The Blades may have thought their luck was going to be in here when Joelinton made a mess of his early chance. Some neat play from the stand-out Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron saw the striker played through on goal, but he got it all wrong and the ball dribbled through to keeper Dean Henderson.
But the visitors never recovered from the sending off of Egan. The Blades defender and Joelinton were shown soft yellow cards in the first half after a bit of argy-bargy. Then Egan was booked again in the 50th minute when he stopped Joelinton breaking clear by tugging his shirt.
Wilder moaned: ‘The first booking was just ridiculous. The game hasn’t changed that much, surely? And if it has, it is in a worse place than what it should be.
‘It was two boys showing a bit of angst against each other. The dynamics of the game completely changed when John went off. It is a really poor decision.’ The Blades went behind five minutes later because of a howler by Enda Stevens.
Matt Ritchie played a cross along the deck from the left and it should have been cut out comfortably by Stevens, but he had a swing and missed his clearance.
That left Saint-Maximin clear at the back post, and his close-range shot went in off the legs of Henderson, who may have been disappointed not to keep it out.
With the game opening up in the 69th minute, George Baldock stood off Ritchie, allowing him to advance to the edge of the area and score.
Then came the icing on the cake as Joelinton received a return pass from Almiron and, for once, he finished it off.
It was just his luck there were no fans in the ground to see it. NEWCASTLE (4-4-1-1): Dubravka 6.5; Manquillo 7, Lascelles 6.5, Fernandez 6.5, Rose 7; Ritchie 7.5 (Yedlin 90), Hayden 7, Shelvey 6.5 (Schar 85), SAINT-MAXIMIN 8 (Bentaleb 79); Almiron 7.5 (Lazaro 85); Joelinton 7 (Carroll 79). Subs not used: Gayle, Muto, Krafth, Darlow. Booked: Joelinton, Lascelles. Scorers: Saint-Maximin 55, Ritchie 69, Joelinton 78. Manager: Steve Bruce: 7.5. SHEFFIELD UNITED (3-5-2): Henderson 5.5; Basham 6, Egan 5, Robinson 5.5; Baldock 6.5, Berge 5.5 (Lundstram 66), Norwood 6.5, Fleck 6 (L Freeman 73), Stevens 4.5; McBurnie 5 (K Freeman 85), Sharp 5.5 (Zivkovic 74). Subs not used: Jagielka, Mousset, Osborn, Moore, Rodwell. Booked: Egan. Sent off: Egan. Manager: Chris Wilder: 5.5. Referee: David Coote 7.