Newcastle United 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur: Three Things We Learned

Newcastle United moved three points above the relegation zone as they scored a late equaliser against Tottenham Hotspur at St James’ Park on Sunday.

Joelinton had initially given the hosts a shock lead as he made Spurs pay for some shocking defending in the first-half. However, their advantage did not last long as Harry Kane hit two quickfire strikes to complete a speedy first-half comeback. On-loan Arsenal man Joe Willock in the end secured a point for Steve Bruce’s men though, converting from close range in the 85th minute.

Here are three things we learned from the game:

Kane a POTY contender?

Whilst Kane has had more lethal Premier League seasons in front of goal – his 30-goal haul in the 2017/18 campaign coming to mind – it could be argued that this edition is his best yet. With his two goals at St James’ Park, he now moves onto 19 goals and 13 assists,  a total of 32 goal contributions, which is the most in the entire league.

Whilst the Spurs captain still has some way to go to match the all-time record of 47 held by both Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer, his form is surely enough to see him be a real contender for Premier League Player of the Year award. He is also one of the favourites to claim the Golden Boot and can be backed at a price of 8/11 with Betfair in which to do that.

Concentration costs Tottenham

Whilst Kane was it his exhilarating best, the same simply could not be said of the rest of his teammates as the North Londoners turned in a poor showing against a Newcastle side that they were certainly expected to beat.

One aspect that will frustrate Jose Mourinho more than anything though was that it was another occasion in which Spurs have dropped points late on. Willock’s strike at St James’ Park was the ninth time that Tottenham have conceded after the 80th minute of the game.

Whether that is down to fitness problems or a sheer lack of concentration late in the day remains to be seen but it looks to be an aspect that could cost them in the race for the Premier League top four.

Newcastle actually carry a threat

One particular feature that has really threatened Newcastle United’s season is their lack of goal threat without Callum Wilson. Indeed, the former Bournemouth man was missing once again for the visit of Spurs.

It may have been easy for the Magpies to wonder how they were going to threaten Spurs throughout the game. Intriguingly, it was actually Bruce’s troops who were by far the most threatening. They produced a huge 22 shots throughout the game, the most that they have had in a Premier League since the 2-1 defeat to Leeds United at the end of January. It was also considerably higher than the average of 10.3 per game that Newcastle have managed throughout the campaign.

Had the likes of Dwight Gayle or Joelinton had sharper instincts in front of goal, the hosts might actually have found the net more and possibly even have claimed three points against Tottenham. If they can continue that creativity once Wilson returns for action then there is no reason as to why they won’t be able to secure their place in the Premier League with relative comfort.

Match Report

Newcastle United: Dubravka (7); Dummett (6), Lascelles (6), Krafth (6) (Willock (7), 79′); Ritchie (6), Longstaff (7), Shelvey (6), Almiron (7), Murphy (7) (Manquillo (N/A), 83′); Gayle (5) (Saint-Maximin (6), 71′), Joelinton (7).

Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris (6); Reguilon (6), Sanchez (5), Tanganga (5), Rodon (6); Ndombele (7), Hojbjerg (6), Lo Celso (7) (Bale (N/A), 88′); Moura (6) (Lamela (6), 64′), Vinicius (5) (Son (6), 46′), Kane (8).

Goals: Joelinton (28′), Kane (30′, 34′), Willock (85′)

Referee: Craig Pawson

Yellow Cards: Lo Celso (45′), Tanganga (63′), Dummett (65′), Shelvey (71′), Almiron (85′)

Red Cards: N/A