Newcastle United faced off against Brentford at the Brentford Community Stadium earlier this evening hoping to pick up a win and progress into the EFL Cup semifinals. Both teams fought tooth and nail in the first half but struggled to make the decisive breakthrough in the final third. The Magpies went into the half-time break with nothing to show for their efforts.
The home team grew in confidence in the second 45 minutes and finally managed to break the deadlock in the 66th minute courtesy of Josh Dasilva’s volley from about 12 yards out. The Tyneside outfit tried to make a late comeback but in vain as the contest finished with Steve Bruce’s men suffering a disappointing 1-0 loss away at Greater London.
Let’s take a look at how each Newcastle player fared during the clash against the Bees.
GK: Karl Darlow – 7/10
The Magpies goalie made some important saves during the game but won’t be happy after conceding in the second half.
RB: DeAndre Yedlin – 6/10
He made a couple of driving runs down the right flank but was lacklustre in the attacking third. Defensively, Yedlin had a quiet game.
CB: Ciaran Clark – 7/10
Clark was solid at the back and made some important interceptions to keep the Brentford attackers frustrated for major periods of the game. However, he will be gutted after shipping in a goal after the hour mark.
CB: Isaac Hayden – 7/10
He did well to fill in as a makeshift centre-back and stood up to the test when defending deep inside his half. He was responsible for making some crucial defensive contributions throughout the 90 minutes.
LB: Jamal Lewis – 6/10
Lewis was mostly untroubled inside his half but failed to influence the game in the opposition half. He ran out of gas and got replaced in the second 45 minutes.
CM: Sean Longstaff – 6/10
The Newcastle midfielder showed great hunger to win the ball back for his side but lacked quality with his passes in the opposition half.
CM: Jonjo Shelvey – 7/10
Shelvey protected his backline quite well and distributed possession without orchestrating too many clear-cut chances during the 90 minutes.
RM: Jacob Murphy – 7/10
He was Bruce’s best source for a goal this evening. Murphy completed several promising dribbles in the attacking third and did well to engineer a couple of decent goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates.
CAM: Miguel Almiron – 5/10
Offensively, Almiron failed to make an impact before being subbed out of the game after the hour mark.
LM: Ryan Fraser – 5.5/10
The ex-Bournemouth attacker worked hard and was not afraid to have a strike at goal. However, his impact on the game faded as the match wore off, which led to his substitution in the second half.
ST: Callum Wilson – 7/10
The English forward caused a lot of problems for the Brentford defenders and will be disappointed about not finding the back of the net this evening.
Substitutes:
LM: Joelinton – 6/10
He had a few bright moments but never looked like he had a goal in him.
ST: Dwight Gayle – 5/10
Gayle struggled to get himself involved in the game after coming off the bench.
ST: Andy Carroll – 6/10
He was Bruce’s last throw of the dice.
