Wilson finally gets a tune out of Newcastle
Jones joins chorus line to help stop the rot
MAYBE Newcastle United should sign up a new assistant every week. Although you can’t put a greatlyimproved performance solely down to the recruitment of Graeme Jones from Bournemouth, this was a different outfit to the one that had previously sleepwalked to six defeats in a row.
Everton, not Newcastle, looked like the side that had previously failed to collect a league point in 2021. The visitors were hardworking and organised and — in contrast to recent displays — were happy to throw bodies forward at the right times.
Jones, who used to work at Goodison with Roberto Martinez, was a visible presence yesterday, yelling encouragement from the technical area in harmony with Bruce.
And whereas Everton’s famed front three struggled to get anything going, Callum Wilson was outstanding from start to finish and thoroughly deserved his two goals.
Initially deployed on the right wing, Everton couldn’t pick him up whenever he drifted inside.
He missed a golden chance after 52 minutes but overcame the setback like good strikers should.
After 72 minutes he lost marker Richarlison to meet Jonjo Shelvey’s corner with a brilliant flick header. And he kept going to the end, tapping in Jamal Lewis’ cross in injury-time when Newcastle broke with devastating effect.
Though the visitors finished with 39 per cent possession — and still haven’t had more possession than the opposition in any league game since July — this was no smash and grab.
The breakthrough goal arrived from their 10th corner and Carlo Ancelotti had already been forced to tweak his side by sending on substitute Andre Gomes to bring control to midfield.
Ancelotti is one of football’s great doyens but he got his line-up wrong. Naming five very attacking players in his selection looked tantalising on paper but didn’t lead to any cohesion.
At least the Italian’s decision to stick by Jordan Pickford after his blunder against Leicester was justified when the England goalkeeper tipped Wilson’s header on to the bar with the best chance of the first half.
‘It’s been a long time coming — we needed to pull our fingers out,’ said a candid Wilson after his side’s best result since winning at West Ham on the opening day.
‘I’m disappointed I didn’t get a hat- trick. I missed a couple of chances. I should have had three. The result is vital to give the boys a bit of a lift and confidence. You could see we were on the front foot and scored good goals. We have to take the game to teams. We can’t be sitting back all the time with the players we’ve got.’
The early signs were in Everton’s favour. Inside the first couple of minutes Richarlison went on a barnstorming run and forced Jamaal Lascelles i nto a bad challenge that earned the Newcastle defender a booking.
Yet it still took the home side 21 minutes to test Toon keeper Karl Darlow through Richarlison and after that Newcastle were the better team.
Shelvey pulled strings in midfield and Wilson and Ryan Fraser were lively either side of the false nine, Miguel Almiron. Pickford had to be alert to tip Wilson’s header onto the bar and the centre-forward was aghast when he missed the target altogether when set up by Fraser after 52 minutes.
Encouragingly, Newcastle didn’t sulk. They forced a flurry of corners and were rewarded when Wilson ended his run of seven games without a goal.
The next big target was to see if the Toon could win their first game in 11. They were anxieties when Wilson hit the outside of the post after rounding Pickford and then when Jeff Hendrick clattered into Richarlison, earning a yellow rather than red.
But the relief was evident in the 93rd minute when substitute Allan Saint- Maximin and Lewis led a swift break for Wilson to convert.
Bruce had started the week with his job on the line. There were even questions whether he approved the arrival of Jones, for whom Newcastle have had to pay Bournemouth compensation.
Now with home games against Crystal Palace and Southampton coming up, Newcastle have a chance to start looking up rather than over their shoulders at the bottom three, particularly with Saint-Maximin finally on the mend after Covid-19 and Fraser back to his buzzing best.
‘It’ s been tough, but when everyone’s fit and available we’re a decent outfit. When we aren’t, it becomes a bit of a struggle,’ said Bruce afterwards.
‘You know you’ll have to play well at Everton to get a result. We’ve seen signs of improvement in the second half against Villa and especially against Leeds. Getting people back fit is really important. We have had a tough few weeks.’
Ancelotti’s first priority is to get Dominic Calvert-Le win firing again. Having started the season like a Golden Boot contender, he has now gone seven league games without a goal.