Joselu makes point after sub-standard Shelvey’s sulk

JONJO SHELVEY had not played well enough to be annoyed at being substituted.

First, he threw his hands in the air when his number went up. Then, as he ambled towards the touchline like a petulant schoolboy being called out of class, he shook his head.

Finally, with Rafa Benitez waiting to offer a handshake, he appeared to slap away the headmaster’s palm. The incident captured the frustration of a talented playmaker who is performing way below his capabilities — and that would have been noted by watching England boss Gareth Southgate.

It is Shelvey’s job to make sure he stays on the park by doing more than he did here. The same could be said of last season’s top scorer Dwight Gayle, who was hooked after missing a string of opportunities to give his side the lead.

Those spurned chances proved costly and Benitez’s team have now gone seven home matches without victory. It is just as well their away form is keeping them out of the bottom three. Here they had enough chances to win two matches but only salvaged a point when substitute Joselu scored their first home goal in nearly six hours.

Swansea took the lead on the hour through Jordan Ayew’s header but the league’s bottom team had been poor up to that point and it is Newcastle who should reflect on this as two points dropped.

Joselu — Gayle’s replacement — restored parity when he spun and rolled a shot into the bottom corner on 68 minutes.

Benitez said: ‘It would be worse if we were not creating chances. The way that we were working, and the chances we were creating, means that we can do it. ’

On the Shelvey incident, eight minutes from time, he added: ‘When you are not winning a game like this, so important, any player has to be disappointed.

‘I did not have any problems with what he did.’

The biggest talking point of the first half came when Newcastle midfielder Mo Diame clearly used his arm to block Mike Van der Hoorn’s flick on goal.

Swans boss Carlos Carvalhal said: ‘I’m sure it would have been a red card and a penalty after 10 seconds with the video referee.’