Newcastle 1-1 Aston Villa: Jamaal Lascelles snatches point for hosts

This was only the third time in the history of the Premier League that a team had scored and failed to score until the 86th minute of an away game

Jamaal Lascelles scored in stoppage time to save a point for relegation-threatened Newcastle after a dramatic final against Aston Villa at St James’ Park.

A largely boring encounter seemed to end goalless before Ollie Watkins’ header deflected off Ciaran Clark and came into play from the bottom of the bar to give Villa the lead just minutes from time.

But Newcastle grabbed a point when Lascelles headed into Jacob Murphy’s cross in the final action of the game.

It was probably a deserved compensation for the hosts, who had been the better team for most of the game, but had little quality in the last third.

They had also hit the bar through Murphy just before Villa took the lead.

The point does little to address Newcastle’s relegation concerns – they’re two points above the bottom three and could fall into the relegation zone if results speak against them this weekend.

But the fight shown after being so late gives Newcastle fans hope that their side can evade danger in the remaining games.

The point for Aston Villa means they stay in ninth place, five points below the top six.

Newcastle finally shows fight

Newcastle have only won one of their last seven games

A lack of goals played a huge role in Newcastle’s decline. Bruce’s team have only won two of their 16 games before visiting Villa.

A boring goalless draw with relegation rivals West Brom last time gave little hope that Newcastle had the struggle to get back to the top, especially with a much improved Fulham side bringing back a 10-point deficit to give them hope of survival.

Against Villa they missed another spark in the final period and a last-minute equalizer won’t remove concerns about how little they worried the opposing goalkeeper for much of the game.

But there were elements of the performance that will give hope. Joelinton had his best game in a while, tormenting Tyrone Mings most of the time, but just missed believing in himself to discard the few good opportunities he had created while Paul Dummett made some excellent shipments in the box.

What is most gratifying for Newcastle fans, however, is that their team has shown some fights in the final minutes that many may have feared their players would be missing. Fans will now hope to show more of that spirit in the remaining games.

Villa continues to fight without Grealish

Last season, Aston Villa were very much in Newcastle’s position this time around as they battled to survive the Premier League.

An excellent first half of this campaign made sure they weren’t in the same situation this time around and instead are looking up, with securing a place in Europe in the next term being a very real possibility.

However, in their most recent form, they risk their season moving towards midfield as they continue to struggle in the absence of injured captain Jack Grealish.

Villa has only won one of their five games since Grealish sustained a leg injury, but while the Talisman striker is undoubtedly a huge loss, their inability to end the chances they create will be frustrating for boss Dean Smith.

They had 15 attempts against Newcastle but were unable to score until Watkins’ header created a sizeable distraction.

Villa scored 27 goals in their first 13 games of the season, but they’ve only managed 12 in the last 14, and Smith will have to find a way to get his team back on track if they want to get into the top six.

A rare run – the statistics

• Newcastle have only won two of their last 17 Premier League games (D5 L10) and have drawn three times in a row for the first time since August 2011.
• Only Sheffield United (22) has failed to score in the first half of more Premier League games this season than Newcastle United (21).
• Ciaran Clark became the first player to score an own goal for a team they played for West Ham against Manchester City in the Premier League since Pablo Zabaleta in April 2018.
• Only Crystal Palace (13) have conceded more goals in the Premier League than Newcastle (12) in the last 15 minutes of play this season.

What next?

Newcastle travel to Brighton in a big clash at the bottom of the table on Saturday 20th March (8:00 p.m. GMT), while Aston Villa will host Tottenham on Sunday 21st March (7:30 p.m.).

Player of the game

TargettMatt Targett

Newcastle United

1. Cadre number6thPlayernameLascelles

2. Cadre number1PlayernameDubravka

3. Cadre number23PlayernameMurphy

4. Cadre number28PlayernameWillock

5. Cadre number3PlayernameStupid

6. Cadre number14thPlayernameHayden

7. Cadre number2PlayernameClark

8. Cadre number21PlayernameFraser

9. Cadre number7thPlayernameCarroll

10. Cadre number9PlayernameJoelinton

11. Cadre number8thPlayernameShelvey

12. Cadre number19thPlayernameManquillo

13. Cadre number17thPlayernameKrafth

14. Cadre number12thPlayernameGayle

Aston Villa

1. Cadre number18thPlayernameTargett

2. Cadre number5PlayernameMings

3. Cadre number4thPlayernameSo

4. Cadre number7thPlayernameMcGinn

5. Cadre number6thPlayernameDouglas Luiz

6. Cadre number26thPlayernameMartínez

7. Cadre number11PlayernameWatkins

8. Cadre number41PlayernameRamsey

9. Cadre number27PlayernameAhmed El Mohamady

10. Cadre number17thPlayernameTrézéguet

11. Cadre number25thPlayernameSanson

12. Cadre number21PlayernameThe Ghazi

13. Cadre number15thPlayernameTraore

14. Cadre number20thPlayernameBarkley

Constellations

Newcastle

formation 4-3-3

1Dubravka

17thKrafth6thLascelles2Clark3Stupid

28Willock8thShelvey14thHayden

9Joelinton21Fraser12thGayle

• 1Dubravka
• 17thKrafthBooked at 52 minutesReplaced byManquilloat the 83 ‘protocol
• 6thLascellesBooked at 68 minutes
• 2Clark
• 3Stupid
• 28Willock
• 8thShelvey
• 14thHaydenReplaced byCarrollat the 88 ‘protocol
• 9Joelinton
• 21FraserReplaced byMurphyat the 79 ‘protocol
• 12thGayle

replacement

• 7thCarroll
• 11Ritchie
• 15thLewis
• 16Hendrick
• 18thFernandez
• 19thManquillo
• 23Murphy
• 26thDarlow
• 36S Longstaff

Aston Villa

formation 4-3-3

26thMartínez

27El Mohamady4thSo5Mings18thTargett

7thMcGinn6thDouglas Luiz41Ramsey

15thTraore11Watkins17thTrézéguet

• 26thMartínez
• 27El Mohamady
• 4thSo
• 5MingsBooked at 78 minutes
• 18thTargett
• 7thMcGinnBooked at 74 minutes
• 6thDouglas Luiz
• 41RamseyReplaced bySansonat the 59 ‘protocolBooked at 77 minutes
• 15thTraoreReplaced byThe Ghaziat the 21 ‘protocol
• 11Watkins
• 17thTrézéguetReplaced byBarkleyat the 68 ‘protocol

replacement

• 1Warm up
• 2cashbox
• 3Taylor
• 19thNakamba
• 20thBarkley
• 21The Ghazi
• 22ndAngel
• 25thSanson
• 39Davis

Live text

1. End of the game, Newcastle United 1, Aston Villa 1.

2. The second half ends, Newcastle United 1, Aston Villa 1.

3. Goal! Newcastle United 1, Aston Villa 1. Jamaal Lascelles (Newcastle United) heads from the center of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Jacob Murphy with a cross.

4. Away from Aston Villa. John McGinn tries a pass, but Ollie Watkins is caught offside.

5. Attempt saved. Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United) right footed shot from close range is saved in the center of the goal. Prepared by Jacob Murphy.

6. Foul by Anwar El Ghazi (Aston Villa).

7. Joseph Willock (Newcastle United) wins a free kick on the right wing.

8. Attempt saved. John McGinn (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the center of the goal. Prepared by Ollie Watkins.

9. Attempt saved. Anwar El Ghazi (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the lower left corner. Prepared by Ross Barkley.

10. Corner, Aston Villa. The corner was caused by Martin Dubravka.

11. Attempt saved. Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa) right footed shot from more than 35 yards in the top right corner.

12. Substitution, Newcastle United. Andy Carroll replaces Isaac Hayden.

13. Own goal by Ciaran Clark, Newcastle United. Newcastle United 0, Aston Villa 1.

14. Missed attempt. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) has a close header from the center of the box, but misses on the right. Assisted by Matt Targett with a cross.

15. Attempt saved. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved by the goalkeeper in the lower right corner. Prepared by John McGinn.

16. Ross Barkley (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

17. Foul by Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle United).

18. Substitution, Newcastle United. Javier Manquillo replaces Emil Krafth.

19. Jacob Murphy (Newcastle United) hits the bar with a right footed shot from the center of the box. Prepared by Paul Dummett.

20. Away from Aston Villa. John McGinn tries a pass, but Ross Barkley is caught offside.