Toon enjoy a happy Monday ..at long last
Burnley 1 Newcastle 2
NEWCASTLE finally ditched the Boomtown Rats’ most famous song for the Happy Mondays.
‘I Don’t Like Mondays’ had been Newcastle’s unwanted theme tune because they had lost their 10 previous games in front of the TV cameras on this evening going back six years.
But Rafa Benitez and his players were all smiles last night as they made it three wins on the bounce, even though Matt Ritchie missed an open goal.
Newcastle caught Burnley napping from a couple of short-corner routines to race into a two-goal lead before the Clarets fought back.
The Geordies climbed three points above the drop zone to extend Burnley’s winless run to six games and leave them anxiously looking over their shoulders.
They are just a point above the relegation zone and look set for a long, hard winter.
Kick-off was delayed for half an hour after referee’s assessor Eddie Wolstenholme collapsed in the tunnel.
The former official from Blackburn, who is in his mid-60s, was conscious as he was taken to hospital.
Newcastle made up for lost time by taking the lead after four minutes with a goal which exposed Burnley’s defensive frailties.
The Clarets failed to deal with a short corner after Mohamed Diame’s drive was deflected behind and Federico Fernandez’s shot ballooned off Ben Mee’s foot for an own goal.
Fernandez’s effort was probably heading wide, but Burnley should still have done better.
They tried to respond and Chris Wood hit a half-volley wide before firing a shot down the throat of Martin Dubravka, which the keeper spilled. Newcastle then mugged Burnley from another set-piece to score a second on 23 minutes.
They again worked a short-corner routine and Ritchie swung the ball over for skipper Ciaran Clark to glance home a header into the far corner.
Again Burnley were caught napping and the goal was the 16th they have conceded in their last six games. So much for Sean Dyche claiming they were looking more like their old selves and their defending continues to be most unlike his side.
The Clarets hauled themselves into the game five minutes before the interval when Mee’s deep cross to the edge of the area was headed home by Sam Vokes, who outjumped Clark.
They pushed for an equaliser and Dubravka made a fine stop to deny Wood.
Ritchie should have scored a third for Newcastle five minutes after the interval to seal victory, but he somehow managed to slice his left-foot shot wide of a gaping goal.
He was just two yards out and his howler is a strong contender for the miss of the season.
Substitute Joselu’s thunderous low shot almost broke Burnley’s right post with Joe Hart stranded.