Bruce stays balanced in his praise for Toon win
HAPPINESS AT LATE GOALS
STEVE Bruce did not go overboard with praise for his team in his postgame Press conference after the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace – but he made sure that his players’ efforts were acknowledged to the full.
The Toon boss opted against lashing out after reports of unrest behind the scenes and social media suggestions he was starting to lose the dressing room.
Instead, Bruce steered clear of a blast at the media and said: “I just want to talk about the performance they put in.”
Before the game Bruce had held a 15-minute conference with his coaching staff in the centre circle at the 96-year-old venue with Steve Agnew, Steve Harper, Ben Dawson and Stephen Clemence deep in dialogue before the warm-up.
Dawson and Harper’s roars of delight could be heard at the back of the main stand at Palace as the goals went in late in the day!
It would have been easy for Bruce to go large on the win afterwards and play the: “Crisis? What crisis?” card but he remained balanced and measured in his assessment.
Bruce even cast a critical eye over
Newcastle’s tame finishing before Joelinton and Callum Wilson’s crucial goals. He said: “We weren’t clinical enough and I thought it was going to cost us, but then we got it for the goals.”
Sean Longstaff shows his credentials as a future leader
The midfielder had an outstanding night in the middle of the park with some key tackles, excellent passing and driving runs into the danger zone. But perhaps his reactions in recent weeks are much more notable.
Longstaff was the first to console Joelinton after his penalty miss at Newport County when he told him not to worry about it.
And he was first on the scene to celebrate with the Brazilian striker after he scored his
League goal since July.
It is the little details in football that can help restore a player’s confidence and Longstaff has quietly played his part.
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Premier
Roy Hodgson shows real class
The former England boss nailed it before the match when asked about possession stats when he insisted they mean very little if you don’t win a game.
The 73-year-old spoke of how centrebacks passing the ball between themselves under no pressure creates a false picture with stats.
And he was proved correct as Palace ended up with 57% of the ball and lost! However, you couldn’t help but admire the former England boss after his remarks in defeat, an honest Hodgson said: “All defeats hurt and this one did as we didn’t play well.
“I didn’t think we were going to lose; I didn’t think we would win it either. So to lose it is a bitter blow.”
If ever an example of why former Inter Milan manager Hodgson remains respected throughout the game, this was it.
Magpies excel in the capital again
There was once a time when the bright lights of London used to petrify Newcastle for some reason as they went 28 matches in the Smoke without emerging with a win.
But the victory over Palace was their fifth win in nine in London on the back of 24 games without one down south.
Callum Wilson’s lethal record
continues
If Newcastle players really needed more encouragement to get Wilson on the ball more they should check out his stats.
His seventh goal of the season came after only EIGHT shots on target overall. Wilson is already in with a shout of hitting double figures before Christmas and is looking an absolute steal at £20m. Despite being overlooked by England he is on the same tally as Harry Kane this term.