Season 4 - Building Momentum

The early part of any season is purely to put yourself in the best position possible for later down the line, and after a mixed first couple of games, we seem to be finally putting in the consistency that should see us competing further through the season. Some of our younger players have had a bit of game time, especially Finneran due to both Bruno and Miley being injured so we've had that positive steps taken for their development too. So with ten games to get through, lets get into them straight away.

Matches

Newcastle 3 - 1 Wolves

We started off with a decent home win but Isak hasn't performed well again adding more incentive to go with Sesko as the starting striker. We took the lead in the first 15 minutes, when Wirtz swung in a corner to the near post and Diomande won the header which beat the keeper. We kept the pressure on but was unable to get a second in the first half and go into half time with a narrow lead. We were punished midway through the second half for not taking our chances when Guedes got into the box and cut inside of Frimpong before shooting to the far corner to level things up. However when the game was coming to a close, Hall got himself into the box and was brought down as he turned past the defender and a penalty was given, Sesko stepped up and beat the keeper to regain the lead. Then just to make it look far more comfortable, Gordon took another corner which Diomande scored his second header of the game to confirm the 3 points.

Newcastle 5 - 0 Napoli (Champions League - League Stage)

Another game where we score 5 goals this season which is becoming a bit of a trend early on, this time a very good win in the Champions League to potentially give us a chance at competing in this competition too. We thought they had took the lead early when they took a deep free kick which they won the header off to come back across goal for Thuram to tap in, but the offside flag denied them and kept it level. Finneran played it into Wirtz who turned his defender and got the shot away, it took a huge deflection and rolled slowly into the far corner to give us the lead through an own goal. Shortly after Wirtz sent in the corner and Sesko met it at the near post to double our lead. It stayed this way at half time but we were by far on top as we had limited them to just the 1 shot. We got the third when Muzambo came down the right wing and got a cross to the back post where Sesko was completely free and scored his second header of the game. Muzambo then was the creator again as he got himself into the box and tried to turn past his defender before flicking it back to Gordon, who took one touch inside and curled it into the far top corner for 4-0. Miley then won the ball back on the half way line and threaded it through for Sesko, who slotted it into the bottom corner to complete his hat trick and get our Champions League campaign off to a flyer.

West Ham 0 - 1 Newcastle

Back to the Premier League and we had one of the most boring games possible. Neither team deserved to win this game as it was such a poor performance all round, but fortunately we did take one chance to give us the win. The first half summed up the game really, as there was only 1 shot on target for us in the entire half, whilst they had nothing themselves. The second half didn't get any better, but we got our goal from a corner. Tonali took the corner which was cleared, but Muzambo was able to recover the ball and gave it back out wide to Tonali who found his way into the box and slid it underneath the keeper to give us the win. There was no more chances besides this for either team and just glad the game was done and we still got 3 points.

Marseille 4 - 6 Newcastle (Champions League - League Stage)

So how do you follow up one of the most boring games possible? Simple, one of the craziest games we've ever had as us and Marseille provide some Champions League magic. They took the lead early when they played the ball through and Diomande completely misses the ball, which let Gloukh run through and score a simple finish. However the lead was short lived, as Wirtz gave it into Sesko on the edge of the box who then turned and found the corner to level it up. Kuol then broke down the right wing and pulled it back for Wirtz inside the box who was able to beat the keeper to give us the lead. We doubled our lead when Sesko received the ball on the half way line and made a run towards the box, he laid it off for Gordon who was cutting in from the left and he curled it to the far post to make it 3-1. They then got their second when a low ball across the box was tapped in by Gloukh for his second of the game and keeping things tight. Just as half time was coming up, Hall whipped in a corner and Diomande won another near post header to make it 4-2 at the break. It didn't take long into the second half for the goals to start coming again, as Kuol and Sesko played a one two with each other then Kuol fired it from the edge of the box to make it 5-2. They then pulled one back again as Greenwood broke into the box and able to find the bottom corner, before Livramento played an awful clearance straight to them and Ali was able to get a tap in from close range to make it 5-4. We got the final say though when Nypan was able to beat his marker on the right and then roll the ball under the keeper to make it 6-4. What a game!

Newcastle 2 - 0 Nottingham Forest

Next up in the Premier League was high flying Nottingham Forest and as expected quite an even game was had, but the chances we had created were far better than the ones they had and in the end we deserved the win. We took the lead early when Wirtz got the ball in the box and fired it across the goal where Gordon was able to meet it at the back post for a tap in to make it 1-0. Wirtz then sent in the corner and Sesko was brought down as he went to meet the header and a penalty was given. Sesko stepped up himself and sent the keeper the wrong way to double our lead. It was a comfortable lead at half time and then the second half just went quiet. They did get one back when Nketiah had a shot that was blocked and it fell back to Anderson who was able to score, but Nketiah was in an offside position to begin with and it was ruled out. The winning run continues.

Liverpool 1 - 3 Newcastle

Next up in the league was Liverpool, however it was a bit weird because there was a month long international break that really could have stopped the momentum we were picking up. We also wasn't helped by a bunch of injuries happening in the break including Miley and Isak who were both injured on international duty. However the game itself had plenty of chances for either team and for a change, we were the ones taking the opportunities instead of losing out because of poor finishing. We took the lead when Wirtz played it into the path of Gordon who shot first time from range and it bounced off the inside of the post and in. They got the equaliser though when Konate gave it to Gravenberch and his effort found the top corner to make things level at half time. Finneran intercepted the ball and gave it to Wirtz who played it first time through for Sesko, who ran onto the ball and found the bottom corner to regain our lead. Then we cemented the win when a poor pass out by Allison gave it straight to Gordon, who just ran straight back at him and put it underneath him to make it 3-1 and a big win for us.

Newcastle 3 - 1 Man City (Champions League - League Stage)

I'm pretty confident the rules of the league stage mean we shouldn't actually play other English teams but that seems to be ignored in game, and next up for us was a home game against Man City. We kept our winning run going and really are laying down a marker in the Champions League early this season so teams might pay attention to us if we go far in it. We took the lead when Hall whipped in a corner and Diomande was able to bring it down and lay it off for Gordon who smashed it past the keeper. We then lost Hall to injury so Lewis-Skelly was on for the rest of the game. We almost made it to half time with the narrow lead but Guehi heads a cross clear, but it comes to their right back Lewis who runs back into the box and finds the top corner to make it 1-1 at the break. We took control in the second half, and regained our lead after some smart play at the back before Frimpong came up the pitch with the ball, he then played it into the box where Nypan ran on to it and found the top corner himself. The third was roles reversed, as Nypan played it out to the right for Frimpong who had the space to run into and he fired it low and hard to beat the keeper again and make it 3-1. Another good win and Nypan is going to be rewarded with a start in the next game due to the impact he had in this one.

Newcastle 2 - 2 Brighton

Unfortunately we finally dropped points after a poor defensive performance cost us in the league. Brighton took full advantage of the performance and were a threat all the way through the game. We thought we were going to be comfortable and carry on our form as we won the ball back from kick off and Sesko was able to play Gordon through, he got into the box before being pulled to the floor and a penalty was given. Sesko stepped up and sends the keeper the wrong way to give us the really early lead. However then the drop off happened. They levelled it up when a low cross falls to Ferguson who was able to tap it in for an easy goal. They then took the lead just before half time with another low cross from the right being met by Buonanotte to make things more difficult for us. It looked like it was going to run out a 2-1 loss, as the best effort we could muster was Muzambo running through the centre of the pitch but then a really poor finish at the end. But just as the game was entering the final stages, Frimpong tried to send in a cross but it hit the defender and deflected out to Nypan, who fired it in from close range to save us a point.

Newcastle 0 - 0 Arsenal 5-3 on penalties (Carabao Cup Fourth Round)

With it being the Carabao Cup we still rested as many players as we could and tried to use as many of the cup team that was available to us despite being up against Arsenal. Fortunately those players were still able to see the game out and take it to penalties, where some more of the usual first team players had come on and was able to win that shootout. The first half was quiet, our best chance was from Muzambo breaking down the left before cutting it back to Tonali who's shot was tipped wide. Their best chance came when Martinelli took a freekick but it hit the roof of the goal as it went just over. The second half had even less chances and the game went straight to penalties. We instantly got the advantage when Sesko scored his penalty, and then Vicario made an excellent save to deny Calvert-Lewin. We continued to score our first 4 penalties and it came down to Vicario vs Rice to win it for us. Rice sent Vicario the wrong way which meant young Finneran had a chance to win the game if he could score his penalty. He sent the keeper the wrong way and has his first big moment in a Newcastle shirt as he puts us through to face Sunderland in the quarter finals.

Fulham 0 - 2 Newcastle

Lastly we go back to the league to face Fulham and we completely dominated this game. The scoreline is kind to them at only 2-0, but this was a walk in the park for us all game and never in question who was going to win in the end. We took the lead when we had a freekick from a weird angle to the left of the goal, but Wirtz took the shot on anyway and found the top corner to make it 1-0. Plenty of chances were then had but poor finishing and some good goalkeeping was keeping it close. We had to wait until the 95th minute, when Lorran sends a low cross in which a defender was able to get a touch on but couldn't stop it going through to Oyono who scores his first goal for the club. A nice win and a good way to see off the opening stages of the season.

Competitions

Premier League

The Premier League is going well and we have shot up into second place, currently joint on points with Man City and Chelsea, whilst Forest are just behind on 20 points. Man U are currently yet to drop points this season so they've taken an early lead but there is no way they will keep that up so we should be able to hunt that down by the end of the year. Arsenal are having a poor season and find themselves in 10th place after 10 games after only winning 3 of their games. The relegation zone is currently taken up by Southampton and Norwich who were just promoted, and Leicester who survived last season but look at risk this year.

Champions League

In the Champions League we are 1 of 4 teams who have won their opening 3 games, with Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Liverpool all matching our record. Frankfurt are finding themselves high up the table at this early stage and would be good to see if they can hold on to that, whilst Atletico Madrid, Napoli, Lazio, Benfica and Ajax are all outside of any qualification place currently.

Carabao Cup

The Carabao Cup Fourth Round didn't really throw up too many surprises in terms of the Premier League teams, however Crawley Town did beat Stoke to set up a match with Man U in the Quarters. We knocked out Arsenal as we know to set up a Tyneside derby. Tottenham are the other bigger team to go out but they lost to Man U so not really a shock. Liverpool vs Man City in the quarters though is a big tie to eliminate one of those, as we aim to get to our third final in the competition in 3 years.

Next Time

Next time we will be running ourselves up to the January transfer window and looking at the fixture list, we have an extremely busy December so we're going to need as many players back to fitness as possible to navigate through that. We also have big games and PSG, Man U, Arsenal and two derby games against Sunderland in this time. How do you think we're doing this season so far? What do you believe is achievable for this time?