Newcastle United progressed to the EFL Cup fourth round with a 2-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers at St. James’ Park on Tuesday.
Newcastle United got their revenge on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round of the EFL Cup, as they claimed a comfortable 2-0 victory.
After losing 2-0 to Wolves in the Championship on Saturday, the Magpies exacted their revenge on Walter Zenga’s side as they reversed the scoreline, with two goals in two minutes from Yoan Gouffran and Matt Ritchie.
A goalless second half followed as Newcastle saw out the win to progress to the next round.
Here are the three players who hit the mark and three who didn’t:
Newcastle United’s Deandre Yedlin (L) in action with Wolves’ Joe Mason
The Hits
Mohamed Diame
After failing to set the world alight in black and white so far, Diame had arguably his best game for Newcastle. He was a constant creative and driving force going forward.
The Senegalese international has scored plenty of fine goals during his career, and came a whisker away from adding another to his collection as his long range chip was thwarted by the crossbar.
Overall it was a much improved performance from the midfielder, who was disappointed with his display against Wolves on Saturday. He showed the St. James’ Park crowd just how exciting he can be.
Newcastle United’s Matt Ritchie celebrates after he scores his sides first goal
Matt Ritchie
What a signing the £12m man is proving to be – Ritchie was once again one of Newcastle’s key players, as they claimed their seventh win in eight matches.
He’s a player who looks Premiership class above – Magpies fans must be wondering why Bournemouth sold him, and also how he’s worth £18m less than Moussa Sissoko.
A classy goal and a pinpoint assist inside two first half minutes capped another fine display for the Scottish internaitonal.
Yoan Gouffran
The French winger’s resurgence continued as he continued his good run of form with another excellently taken volley that rocketed into the roof of the net to make it 2-0 to the hosts.
Gouffran’s workrate and effectiveness at both ends of the field are making him a very useful player in Rafa Benitez’s side – who have won every single match in which the 30-year-old has started so far this season.
Newcastle United’s Yoan Gouffran celebrates with teammates after he scores his sides second goal
The Misses
Achraf Lazaar
Newcastle had three full debutants on the field against Wolves and while no one did terribly by any means, Lazaar had the poorest game of the three – or any Magpies player for that matter,
He was quick to get forward but often proved to be sloppy in possession, cheaply giving the ball away on a number of occasions.
The Moroccan is still getting used to the English game and there was probably just enough in his performance to show some signs of encouragement, but his delivery and wastefulness often frustrated the home crowd.
Daryl Murphy
Another debutant who struggled slightly, as he was deployed as a lone striker and didn’t get too much in the way of service throughout the evening.
Murphy’s hold up play was what you’d expect from the big Irishman, but he wasn’t convincing, blazing the ball over from six yards late on, and he failed to connect properly with a free header in the first half.
In a match where most Newcastle players looked solid, it’s unfortunate that Murphy struggled to make any real impact on the match – particularly in the second half.
Wolves’ Dominic Iorfa (L) in action with Newcastle United’s Daryl Murphy
Jack Colback
The Newcastle central-midfielder was actually okay in the middle, but he really missed his chance to impress Benitez after Newcastle’s poor performance at the weekend.
The Magpies’ boss likes to rotate his side, so when Colback was brought back into the starting 11 with a potential place against Aston Villa in the Championship at the weekend up for grabs, you’d expect a strong display from the 26-year-old old – but it was not to be.
The former Sunderland man just seemed to go through the motions, and his only real moment of impact was a one two with Ritchie which led to the opening goal. So it wasn’t a bad performance, but just wasn’t enough for him to stake a decent claim to start on Saturday.
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez shakes the hand of Wolves manager Walter Zenga before the match
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