Newcastle 4-0 Leicester
by Roger Domeneghetti
at St. James' Park

NEWCASTLE posted their first win in five games at the weekend, blowing away a shell-shocked Leicester with an utterly dominant second-half performance.

To be fair, they were also comfortably on top in the first half, going into the break one goal to the good. The opener came courtesy of Jacob Murphy’s rasping drive from the edge of the area, following a well-worked move on the right between Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon.

It was no more than Newcastle deserved. Although Leicester had been sharp in the tackle, hassling and harrying their hosts, they had been loose in the pass, the few promising moves they had often breaking down before the final third. 

Yet Leicester ended the half with an extended spell of possession. They looked like they might pose their hosts some interesting questions after the break, especially given their propensity for a comeback. The half-time atmosphere among the Newcastle fans was muted.

They had no need to worry. Any hope the visitors had evaporated in the first five minutes of the second half. 

Leicester goalie Mads Hermansen, who has been imperious this season behind a brittle defence, was replaced by Danny Ward due to a groin injury. The Welsh keeper endured a torrid time in goal two seasons ago when Leicester were relegated. Those memories must have come flooding back like a fever dream in his first League outing in since November 2023.

His first touch was to pick it out of the net after Bruno Guimaraes headed home Lewis Hall’s cross two minutes after the break.

His second came three minutes later when he picked the ball out of the net again after Alexander Isak headed home Newcastle’s third.

Ward was a little unlucky that the ball took a deflection off Conor Coady away from him and into Isak’s path, but there was no mitigation for the fourth, Murphy firing through the beleaguered keeper’s legs.

The game over as a meaningful contest, Eddie Howe, no doubt mindful of his team’s League Cup quarter final in four days’ time, took the opportunity to substitute some of his key players. Newcastle will go into that game with their confidence renewed.

For Leicester, it was a case of damage limitation, ensuring their goal difference did not get worse. If Ruud van Nistelrooy was under any illusions about the enormity of his task, this will have shattered them. It will be a difficult Christmas period, especially if Hermansen is missing for long.