It’s a Schar thing!
Forest’s hopes are cut down by Eddie’s unstoppable centre-back
EDDIE HOWE warned his Newcastle players they needed to be ‘cool, calm and collected’ amid the frenzy of an opening-day St James’ Park. For the best part of an hour, as dominant as they were, that composure eluded them. How thankful he will be, then, that a centre-back had a rush to the head 25 yards from goal and duly found the top corner.
Fabian Schar has form for such moments — not all of it good, as folk in the low rows will testify — but when the Swiss gets his timing right, his dispatches can prove just about unstoppable.
And his timing for Howe and Newcastle was perfect here. Let us be clear, Newcastle schooled Nottingham Forest from start to finish but, as chance after chance passed them by, you wondered whether the visitors were about to spoil their way to a point on their return to the Premier League after 23 years away.
Schar’s intervention, then, was needed. Collecting the ball 40 yards out, he strode forward unopposed and accepted the invitation to shoot. He was encouraged, too, by a crowd growing a little frustrated with a scoreline that was no reflection of their side’s superiority.
Forest debutant Dean Henderson is a confident keeper, though, and would have backed himself to stop an effort from such distance. Even at the point of contact it appeared speculative. So the sound of Schar’s strike kissing the inside of the post would have felt like a smack in the mouth for the goalkeeper, rendered helpless by the precision of the execution.
‘It was strike from a player who is capable of special moments,’ said Howe. ‘He does things the unconventional way. I wouldn’t have reached the goal from there. I was questioning his decision when he lined it up. We needed a goal like that to break the deadlock.’
Callum Wilson made sure of a result that was never in doubt once Schar had broken through. His goal was a belter, too, albeit far more subtle, directing the cutest of chips over Henderson 12 minutes from time.
It means Newcastle have won on day one of the campaign — it took them 15 attempts last season. And how different this feels from 12 months ago: a 4-2 defeat by West Ham when Steve Bruce’s side were — as his players later revealed — not fit for the Premier League.
There is no danger of that under Howe. What they do need is more quality in the final third, not that the head coach was in the mood for any criticism given the intent, verve and energy of his team’s display. We needed to be patient,’ he said. ’But it was a brilliant performance from us from start to finish. There were certain moments when we could have done better and I will perhaps watch the game back with a more critical eye.
‘Everything I asked of the players they have given me. Everyone was committed.’
Where they want to be is challenging for Europe and, on this evidence, they are perhaps only one offensive player shy of making that a reality in their first full season under Saudi-backed ownership.
For Steve Cooper’s Forest, they will have to discover far more attacking intent if they are to give themselves a shot at survival. They did not register a single effort on target. Marquee signing Jesse Lingard was miles off, while Brennan Johnson was shackled by the excellent Schar and Dan Burn.
It looked like Howe had got everything right early on. It was the sort of adrenalin-fuelled performance you would have expected from the hosts. But, for all of that, Henderson was not forced into anything resembling drastic action come half-time. Howe had told his players that to feed off the noise and excitement of the crowd was all well and good, but in stressing the need for composure he had also revealed a concern. It proved well founded as 14 efforts on goal in the first half were either wayward, snatched at or lacking conviction.
The second half began in much the same manner and Allan SaintMaximin had not long been denied by Henderson from close range when Schar sought a different route to goal. It would prove the path to a well-deserved victory.