The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
‘Excellent’ Eagles duo a big threat
ford earlier this season or when the dominant hosts limited the Red Devils to one tame shot on target in a 1-0 victory at St James’ back in December. It is doubtful Newcastle will need to waste time when the Magpies visit the Theatre of Dreams next month, either.
“For people to talk about us in such detail about this phase of play I find interesting because it’s not something we have focused on,” Howe previously said. “There’s a lot of talk about something which we haven’t encouraged, which I find quite bizarre, really ... everybody does it.
“At the end of the game, when you’re winning a game, of course, everyone manages the game. You would be foolish not to but I think that comes from the players’ experience.
“We’ve got some really experienced guys who have played at the highest level and they want to win and we want to win so we would encourage everything we do within the rules to try and get over the line but in every other situation, we’re trying to play the game at an absolute fast pace and we want to entertain.”
OLIVER Glasner has warned Newcastle United of his Crystal Palace team’s attacking capabilities – with the additions of Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise a particular threat.
In the Eagles’ 5-2 battering of West Ham on Sunday, the attacking duo were making only their sixth start together of the campaign due to persistent injury troubles. For the second weekend in a row it paid dividends as Glasner’s side have begun to click under their new coach and ease their relegation fears.
Olise opened the scoring in the seventh minute against the Hammers, then Eze doubled the lead nine minutes later. Both would go on to provide an assist each for Jean-phillipe Mateta to complete the rout.
This looks to have warmed them up nicely for the Magpies visit, and while Glasner is wary of the freshness Eddie Howe’s men possess following an extended rest, he also made sure to issue a stark warning to the visiting side in dealing with the talented wingers.
“They are excellent players and they are important for our attack,” stated Glasner postmatch. “But all the other players also work hard so they can get into these positions.
“Michael’s goal with his head, but it was the cross from
Joachim Andersen after they cleared a set piece – how we played then was excellent.
“It’s a team game. Yes, we know they have fantastic qualities, and they showed it by playing like this. They were creative in dribbling and passing.”
Neither Eze nor Olise were available for last October’s reverse fixture, when goals from Jacob Murphy, Anthony Gordon, Sean Longstaff and Callum
Wilson secured a 4-0 triumph at St James’ Park.
The Austrian coach, who before his Selhurst Park appointment in February most famously won the 2021/22 Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt, then provided a hint about his tactical plan – one that Newcastle could seek to exploit on the counter.
He added: “The last goal in the second half was because Will Hughes travelled with the ball and then he passed, and we had all three players in a position where they could score.
“For the own goal, we had three players in the six-yard box – it makes it difficult for defenders.”