Wolverhampton 2-2 Newcastle — Match Report: Shattered and soaked (again)

Callum Wilson’s double helped earn Newcastle a point on the road at Molineux and put him third on Newcastle’s all time Premier League goal-scorer list following Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Wolverhampton.

Wilson is now two goals shy of Peter Beardsley’s record (47) and 103 behind Alan Shearer’s tally (148).

Another soaked pitch with rain hammering down throughout at Molineux is what Newcastle found on Saturday. Eddie Howe’s side’s legs were already heavy after a soak trodden St James’ Park pitch on Wednesday again Dortmund. so this game was a real test of their fitness.

It was a hard game to asses. Newcastle understandably looked shattered, which led to a lot of misplaced passes as sloppiness crept in as the fatigue built up.

Howe’s side also looked in control of the game in places, slowing the game down when they needed to, after being stretched by Pedro Neto for the majority of the evening.

Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images

The breakthrough goal came for Newcastle as a result of an error by Sa. The goalkeeper attempted to come through bodies but dropped the ball with Wilson lurking. He made a bit of a hash of the first attempt, but as the ball looped back towards him, Wilson cleverly adjusted his body and produced an overhead kick, sending the ball into the back of the net.

Wolves bounced back and looked threatening. Forcing smart saves from Nick Pope. Their equalizer came from a corner (the first goal Newcastle have conceded from a set piece this season).

Pope decided to come for the ball but quickly scurried back, while Kieran Trippier was outmuscled by the impressive Mario Lemina, who headed the ball home.

Newcastle finished the half strongly with a series of corners. The final one of the first half brought a penalty. It was a soft penalty, to say the least, but Newcastle weren’t complaining. Wilson restored Newcastle’s lead from the spot, his shot squeezing past Sa despite the goalkeeper getting a hand to the ball.

Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images

There was a feeling that Wolves would come on strong in the second half, and more goals were expected. Newcastle were sloppy and gave needless free kicks away—it was from one of those that Wolves came back into the game yet again.

Pope decided to punch the ball rather than catch it, but it had enough distance for Newcastle’s defence to reset. The defending from then on was feeble to say the least. Toti jinked one way and then the other before feeding Hwang with the reverse pass. The Korean then cut inside his marker before beating Pope at his near post to send the home crowd wild.

Wolves remained on top until Neto was forced off through injury, which swung the tide in Newcastle’s favor. Despite their efforts, the Magpies couldn’t find a late winner.

Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images

There was an overreaction to the result on social media, with many blaming Pope for Newcastle not picking up all three points. That was a ridiculous suggestion, to say the least.

For some reason there always has to be a scapegoat when things don’t go to plan. We’ve seen it with Sean Longstaff, Joelinton, Miguel Almiron, and Dan Burn in the past. Now, it seems to be Pope’s turn to be the one. A frustrating way to view the game.

Sometimes supporters just need to see things how they are. Newcastle had come off the back of a tiring display and a defeat a few short days before, on another soaked pitch. Depleted through injuries, Newcastle’s point at Molineux should be viewed in one way: positively.

Newcastle have done amazingly well to handle three-game weeks, but injuries are piling up and rather than finding a scapegoat, it’s time to get behind the players and help give them the extra percent they need.