It was a strange atmosphere prior to kick off at St James' Park as a deflated Newcastle United faced a freshly blown up Chelsea. The Magpies' pre-match atmospheric video broke a deathly silence that swiftly returned upon its completion. The stadium announcer's war-cry of "LETS MAKE SOME NOISE FOR NEWCASTLE UNITED" was met with a eery knee-pat, resembling the latter stages of a charity raffle. Presumably Newcastle's defeat against Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup had spooked the Geordie fan-base but the Magpies' thrilling start turned up the volume as Steve McClaren's 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 formation with Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ayoze Perez up front gave Jose Mourinho's side some early problems. Kevin Mbabu's fearless, energetic and unfazed workmanship (or a severe mid-week telling off) lifted the whole team and made them unrecognisable from the side (and support) that was knocked out the cup three days earlier. The 20-year-old - who was making his second senior appearance - has gone from facing Blackburn reserves to marking Pedro Rodriguez and did so superbly. A 42nd minute half-volley strike from Ayoze Perez put the Magpies ahead after Vurnon Anita's well-angled cross found the Spaniard free inside the area. The sensational strike prompted applause from the home support as they went into the break 1-0 in front. Chelsea huffed and puffed in the second half but despite Newcastle adopting a more negative system with Jack Colback and Anita dropping much deeper, the Blues were unable to break them down. In the 60th minute, the Magpies got their reward and doubled their lead through Georginio Wijnaldum, who headed home from Perez's corner. A wonderful 78th minute thunder strike from Ramires brought Chelsea some hope and an 86th minute free-kick levelled the match as Newcastle lost their concentration and shape towards the end. A big point for Newcastle and a wonderful performance (for seventy minutes). McClaren still doesn't have his first Premier League win but he has the fans back onside, which in the short-term is more important. The Magpies need to play like this every week and their first win won't be too far away.
NCTJ-accredited football writer with an MA in Sports Journalism. What Culture football editor. Write for the official Newcastle United programme. Former video reporter at North News. Featured and published in the Sunderland Echo, Shields Gazette, Mail Online, The Mirror, The Sun and others.
