Newcastle United entertained Luton Town in a tricky FA Cup third round tie at St. James Park. Rafael Benitez was expected to make some changes to his starting eleven but he opted to put up a strong Newcastle side. The Magpies changed their goalkeeper and went with some of their usual starters for the match. It paid dividends in the contest as the Toon Army rejoiced a comfortable 3-1 victory over Luton Town through a strong first half performance from their side where Ayoze Perez scored a brace and bagged an assist while Jonjoe Shelvey scored the third goal to kill off the contest. The visitors got a consolation goal courtesy of a Danny Hylton strike in the 49th minute.
Let’s take a look at how the Newcastle United players fared in the match.
GK: Freddie Woodman – 6/10
He made a few good saves when called upon and distributed the ball well. However, he switched off occasionally but did enough to keep his side ahead.
RB: Javier Manquillo – 7/10
The Spanish full-back put in a tireless performance and looked more comfortable at right-back.
CB: Jamaal Lascelles – 6/10
He fell victim to an injury halfway into the first half. The Toon Army will be hoping that it’s nothing serious and their defender can be back in action soon.
CB: Ciaran Clark – 6/10
He was helpless when conceding the goal as the ball deflected off him and went into the net. Otherwise, he did enough in central defence to earn his team a 3-1 victory on the day.
LB: Paul Dummett – 6/10
He was booked on the 59th minute for a bad foul but his presence at left-back will once put smiles on the Newcastle United supporters’ faces after his recent struggle with injuries.
CM: Jonjoe Shelvey – 8/10
He scored the third goal with relative ease and was able to kill off the contest in the first half.
CM: Mikel Merino – 7/10
The Spanish midfielder put in another tireless and hard-working display at the centre of the park for the Magpies.
RM: Jacob Murphy – 7/10
He had a solid game on the right flank and his curling effort forced a diving save out of Luton goalkeeper Marek Stech.
CAM: Ayoze Perez – 9/10
The Spanish made the difference in the contest by scoring a brace of goals and creating the third goal for the Magpies. He was outstanding in the first half and that was enough to finish off the tie.
LM: Matt Ritchie – 7/10
The Newcastle playmaker came close to scoring with his few efforts but was unlucky not to get his name on the scoresheet.
ST: Dwight Gayle – 7/10
He linked up well with his teammates around him and his initial driven freekick was what led to the Ayoze Perez opener. The Magpies forward could have and probably should have scored on the day.
Substitutions:
CM: Mohamed Diame – 7/10
He came off the bench and had a long-range attempt on target in stoppage time which could have made it a more commanding scoreline for the Magpies.
CM: Isaac Hayden – 7/10
He made a few crucial blocks after coming on in the first half to replace the injured Jamaal Lascelles.
CM: Henri Saivet – N/A
The Senegalese came on for the final ten minutes of the match and had too little time to make an impact.
