JONJO MAKES IMPACT
New signing shines, but off-the-ball clash mars Shelvey’s Magpies debut
NEWCASTLE’S fans were singing Jonjo Shelvey’s name just 15 minutes into his debut, and deservedly so. But the £12million midfielder could be joining those same supporters in the stands in the next few weeks if the FA take action for an off-the-ball clash with West Ham’s Enner Valencia.
It was a needless stain on an otherwise flawless start to his career on Tyneside. Shelvey had been the inspiration behind a blistering opening in which Ayoze Perez and Georginio Wijnaldum fired Newcastle into a two-goal lead.
But then came the moment six minutes before the break that could land Shelvey in trouble with the authorities. The ball was elsewhere as Valencia sought to make his way into Newcastle’s penalty area. Shelvey, in his path, used his shoulder to block the run but appeared to follow through with his forearm and elbow, flooring the Ecuadorian.
Referee Neil Swarbrick spoke to Shelvey and no card was issued, although it is unclear if he saw the incident first time around. If not, the FA could take retrospective action.
Newcastle boss Steve McClaren certainly thought there was nothing to it. ‘I’ve seen it. It was more handbags,’ he said after a first victory in seven matches to lift his side out of the bottom three.
‘It’s a contact sport. It was shoulder to shoulder. Let’s not talk about a stupid little incident, it should be about the win.’
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic, whose side were given hope of nicking an unlikely point when Nikica Jelavic scored after half-time, declined to comment, having not seen the incident.
Nonetheless, it was a shame that post-match talk was dominated by Shelvey’s alleged indiscretion, for he had been outstanding, serving up two incisive passes in the build-up to the goals.
It was McClaren who recommended the club sign the England man. Perhaps they should listen to the advice of their head coach more often, as opposed to chief scout Graham Carr, whose record is coming under increased scrutiny with £12m Aleksandar Mitrovic again misfiring here and £13m Florian Thauvin on his way back to France after just five months.
Of his new boy, McClaren said: ‘I thought he was the perfect balance in our midfield. He supplied two brilliant passes for the goals. That’s the difference between top-quality midfielders and average ones.’
Newcastle started in the same blistering manner in which they finished the 3-3 draw with Manchester United on Tuesday and should have been in front on five minutes when Perez scuffed into the arms of a relieved Adrian.
If the Spaniard was ruing his execution then he immediately had the chance to rectify it — and that he did. Shelvey, taking control on the fringe of the centre circle, zipped a ball into Wijnaldum and he cushioned to Perez, who curled first time into the bottom corner from 20 yards. It was a wonderful finish.
The biggest criticism of Newcastle this season has been their failure to turn promising spells into goals. Here, they looked like scoring every time they went forward and they duly had a second on 15 minutes — and it was even better than their opener.
Shelvey swept a glorious pass fully 50 yards onto the boot of Daryl Janmaat and the right-back attacked the space in front of him before delivering for Wijnaldum to hook home for his ninth of the season.
McClaren said: ‘I thought the intensity and tempo of the first 20 minutes was superb. We were on the front foot and controlled the game. The football was excellent, and we scored two great goals. That second goal was wonderful, and West Ham must have been happy just to be 2-0 down at half-time.’
Bilic reacted to West Ham’s woeful first-half showing by introducing Jelavic and within four minutes he had halved their deficit.
Chancel Mbemba rolled a blind back pass towards goalkeeper Rob Elliot and Jelavic, anticipating the mistake, stole in to snap home from a narrow angle.
Mitrovic should have restored the two-goal cushion when sprung clear by Shelvey on 75 minutes but he shot straight at Adrian.
And Newcastle could have paid the price when Cheikhou Kouyate rose to turn Jelavic’s lofted centre on goal but Elliot reacted to block on the line with his legs.
Bilic said: ‘We should have started with more confidence than them. That wasn’t the case. We have to give them credit for starting so brightly, but we definitely helped them. We have to admit that they were better and deserved to win.’
Shelvey was named man of the match. Newcastle can only hope he’s available next weekend.