Newcastle United secured their first Premier League win in three against Nottingham Forest yesterday and one player took his opportunity to impress Eddie Howe.
The Magpies capitalised on their competitors misfortunes when they took a hard-fought three points away from St James’ Park last night, and Eddie Howe will be delighted to get back on track.
Following two consecutive defeats to Fulham and Manchester City in the league, Newcastle were finding themselves falling further down the table as the competition for a Champions League qualifying spot tightens.
However, thanks to their victory and defeats suffered by Chelsea and Bournemouth, they have risen from eighth to fifth to claim back their spot in fifth, matching Manchester City for points in fourth following their defeat to Liverpool at the Etihad yesterday.
In terms of the performance against Nottingham Forest, it really was a game of two halves with Newcastle causing chaos for their visitors in the first 45 minutes, but failing to maintain their three-goal lead in the second with sloppy mistakes and lack of control creeping in.
Forest came out fighting after taking a thrashing in the first half and delivered two more blows to the Tynesiders’ lead, leaving the home side scrambling in added time to avoid dropping points.
Indeed, there were some glaring issues and concerns to take away from the overall performance at St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon, but also plenty of positives with Lewis Miley grabbing his opportunity to impress his manager with both hands.
The talented teenager opened the scoring for Newcastle when he found the equaliser to cancel out Forest’s early lead in the 23rd minute, which set the stage for Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak to bury their chances within 11 minutes of Miley’s stunner.
The Newcastle boss spoke to the media after the Forest clash and took the time to deliver praise for Miley’s performance:
“I thought he was excellent in that first half. I thought he showed all his qualities, his technical ability, his bravery to get on the ball, his tactical understanding. He scored a goal, which is great to see again at the Gallowgate End, great finish. He’s got really big character on the pitch.
“But again, he’s another player that probably suffered with the team in the second half, so there will be a lot to take from that game for Lewie.”
What’s next for Lewis Miley?
There is no doubt that the 18-year-old has a bright future ahead of him and is a definite future prospect for Newcastle’s midfield, but in the immediate there is a question about what he can offer going forward.
Miley’s opportunity to start against Forest was prompted by Joelinton and Sandro Tonali’s absence in the centre of the pitch, but after confidently scoring the equaliser to inspire a more direct approach from the team around him, he has earned his right to be knocking on the door for a starting slot more regularly.
Over his 90-minute performance, the Newcastle native had 63 touches of the ball, completed one key pass and an 81% pass accuracy, as well as winning the majority of his ground and aerial duels combined (6/11) and completing two tackles and interceptions, proving that beyond his goal-scoring escapades, he was also getting stuck into ball-winning opportunities.
Indeed, more experience is needed for Miley to develop into a player that can be trusted week in, week out, but his presence on the pitch and confidence alongside his teammates is a huge boost for Newcastle when considering the depth of their squad ahead of next season.
If Newcastle can secure Champions League football over their remaining games, there is no reason why Miley can’t consistently contribute across the many competitions they will be competing in and could still play a huge part in Newcastle’s domestic trophy campaign this season.
