Paul Merson heaped praise on Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka for his performance in the 2-1 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Sky Sports pundit dubbed the 29-year-old absolutely outstanding for his latest display and stated that he probably was the player who got his side all three points against the Cherries.
Merson, in particular, highlighted the save Dubravka made near the end of the game when the Magpies were trying to see out their 2-1 win.
“Gosling was offside but another great save because if actually that shot had gone in then he (the referee) would have given the goal so the goalie..Dub..Dubravka was absolutely outstanding,” said Merson on Soccer Saturday (Sky Sports News, November 10, 17:27).
“He probably was the one who got them the points but back-to-back wins in the Premier League when your a bottom half team, to do that is big stuff.”
OPINION
Merson is right to heap praise on Dubravka but surely Salomon Rondon can make a claim about who earned the Magpies the three points. The forward scored both goals on Saturday and without him, the Magpies probably wouldn’t have secured a positive result. However what is clear, is that both players played their parts against Eddie Howe’s side and helped send Rafa Benitez into the international break on a positive note. While Rondon arguably made his first big impression in a Magpies shirt on Saturday, Dubravka has been delivering the goods for a while now. Ever since arriving at St James Park in January, originally on loan, the shot-stopper has shone and has helped the Magpies rack up some important points in recent times. Hopefully this continues to be the case as with him in between the sticks performing the way he usually does, it means teams have a hard job scoring against the Magpies.
