West Brom 0-2 Newcastle: 7 Key Ways The Baggies Were Blunted

2. Frustration

Like with the Liverpool game, Newcastle's resilience and their commitment to reducing the opponent's attacking play led to exactly the response Alan Pardew was looking for from his opposite number - Alan Irvine. Frustrated that his first choice attack was hitting a brick wall, Irvine threw on another striker in the shape of Georgios Samaras to try and force the issue. The result was the opposite of what Irvine wanted - with his side already 2 down, but not over-run in possession, the answer was not to take off a midfielder for a striker (who turned out to be mostly useless). But neither was it to retain the same shape and hope for the best: Irvine was driven to a desperate measure (as Rodgers had been the week before when he ended up with 4 strikers on the pitch), and it played into Newcastle's hands. Able to withstand the extra pressure (which actually never came), Newcastle were then also able to play higher up the pitch and isolate Anichebe and Berahino further, basically nullifying their threat entirely.