Gary O’Neil thinks of two words to sum up Newcastle United’s late brilliant win

2 months ago 23

ARTICLE AD

Gary O’Neil came up with two words after Eddie Howe’s side won at Molineux.

The Wolves boss felt ‘frustration’ at the final whistle, his side now with only one point from four games.

Whilst he reckoned it was ‘unlucky’ when Fabian Schar equalised, as his superb long range strike took a deflection on the way past the keeper.

I think in truth a draw was probably a fair result but when you have the quality of Harvey Barnes to bring off the bench, that is what he can deliver, in no way a one-off either as that was his trademark finish. Coming in from the left and lashing it around the keeper from outside the area.

Gary O’Neil reacts to Newcastle United winning at Molineux, speaking to the official club site – 15 September 2024:

“Frustration is the right word, because it’s easy to feel down after results.

“But the group gave everything there was loads of quality. I thought we probably edged it, to be honest, for large parts, and we had an issue at the start that we managed to fix, and from then on, I felt really comfortable, because we were really dangerous.

“But it’s where we are at this moment. We know we’re in a tough run of fixtures, and we’re playing against opposition who have big quality, and it seems at this moment that we’ve been heavily punished for any little error.”

Gary O’Neil on Newcastle United’s late show:

“The first goal we concede is desperately unlucky and summed up where the game was heading.

“Schar ended up taking shots from there, it flicks off Daws and goes in.

“Second goal I’m really disappointed with because we speak to the full-backs about showing wingers outside all the time, literally every day since I’ve been here.

“Harvey Barnes is allowed to come inside and it’s a fantastic finish, but it should never happen against us, so I’m disappointed with that. Nels [Semedo] having to come off was a big blow because he’s really important to us. We need to make sure that he can get through more of the game than he did today.

“But all that group could do is give everything, and show what they are, and you can see big moments of quality. I have no doubts that we’re going to pick up some big results if we continue to put in performances like we did today.”

Gary O’Neil on taking positives from the game:

“The first one’s a deflection, but it can happen. We’re not feeling sorry for ourselves or saying, ‘Oh, it’s just one of those things’. It’s not that, we had enough opportunities in the game, we hit the post at 1-0, Jorgen has a really good chance for header at 1-0.

“At one-nil I thought we looked the most likely for quite a while, and then we started to tire a little bit. We had a couple with cramp and we had to make changes and in that little spell we were punished for a couple of things that can happen at Premier League level.

“It’s a tough one to take on the chin, because a lot of me really enjoyed what the group gave today but it wasn’t enough for the fans in the end. The supporters will be frustrated at the moment, of course, because we’re in a run where it’s tough for us to win games, but they saw from the group, there was a lot of effort, a lot of quality, good understanding, even after going 2-1 down, we had a good few chances to score again.

“Lots there that stand us in good stead, but as we know, the Premier League is ruthless and we need to find a way to get some results.”

Gary O’Neil on the search for a first win this season:

“Everyone’s desperate for it, of course, but that was close to being our best today. Of course, there’s a few little bits that we could tidy up on, but we’ve gone up against a side who have spent an awful lot of money and were in the Champions League last season, and we didn’t look like a lesser side.

“That takes a lot of doing against Newcastle, because there’s not many teams that go out against them and just go toe-to-toe and have a real good game, and, in my opinion, looks slightly more likely to score than they do.

“But we need to make sure that turns into more than that and we’ll get back to work on it tomorrow.”

Wolves 1 Newcastle 2 – Sunday 15 September 4.30pm

(Stats via BBC Sport)

Goals:

Newcastle United:

Schar 75, Barnes 80

Wolves:

Lemina 36

(Half-time stats in brackets)

Possession was Newcastle 51% (63%) Wolves 49% (37%)

Total shots were Newcastle 14 (3) Wolves 12 (5)

Shots on target were Newcastle 6 (1) Wolves 5 (2)

Corners were Newcastle 7 (2) Wolves 4 (2)

Touches in the box Newcastle 22 (7) Wolves 27 (8)

Newcastle United team v Wolves:

Pope, Livramento (Trippier 64), Schar, Burn, Hall, Joelinton (Willock 46), Bruno (Kelly 87), Longstaff (Tonali 46), Jacob Murphy, Isak (Barnes 46), Gordon

Unused subs:

Dubravka, Krafth, Osula, Almiron

(3 Positives and 3 Negatives to take from Wolves 1 Newcastle 2 – Read HERE)

(HERE is the photo which all Newcastle United fans are absolutely loving tonight…)

(Wolves 1 Newcastle 2 – Instant Newcastle United fan / writer reaction – Read HERE)

(Wolves 1 Newcastle 2 – Interesting independent ratings on Newcastle United players – Read HERE)

Newcastle United upcoming match schedule, confirmed to end of November:

Saturday 21 September 2024 – Fulham v Newcastle (3pm)

Tuesday 24 September 2024 – AFC Wimbledon v Newcastle (7.45pm) Sky Sports+

Saturday 28 September 2024 – Newcastle v Man City (12.30 pm) TNT Sports

Saturday 5 October – Everton v Newcastle (5.30pm) Sky Sports

Saturday 19 October – Newcastle v Brighton (3pm)