Newcastle United striker Dwight Gayle was guilty of being wasteful in front of goal, despite Steve Bruce’s side’s victory at the weekend.
Gayle was given a start for Newcastle up-front, but he wasted some glorious opportunities during the contest.
In the end, Gayle’s prolificacy didn’t prove to be too costly, as Allan Saint-Maximin bagged a winner for the Magpies late on.
And Crooks suggests that Saint-Maximin did rather save Gayle from criticism.
“This lad terrorised Southampton,” Crooks said of the French winger.
“The Saints simply couldn’t cope with his pace. While Saint-Maximin was carving his way through the Southampton defence, Dwight Gayle was missing chances set up by the Frenchman with alarming regularity.
“In the end Saint-Maximin decided to do it all himself and created his own chance… and converted it.”
In defence of Gayle, he did at least show a willingness to get into scoring positions.
Joelinton has generally led the line for Newcastle this term, but the Brazilian has been reluctant to get into the box regularly enough.
Gayle will realise that he needs to finish his opportunities with greater calmness in the coming weeks though, if he is to keep his place.
Steve Bruce is desperate to find a goalscoring striker at Newcastle, as his current options have all struggled so far this term.
The Magpies are the lowest scorers in the Premier League, but their win over Southampton has pushed them up to 13th place.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
