Jamal Lascelles suggests Rafael Benitez’s gamble paid off for Newcastle United.
Jamal Lascelles has told The Chronicle that Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez was proven right in his decision to drop goalkeeper Karl Darlow for Martin Dubravka on Sunday.
The Magpies beat Manchester United 1-0 at St James’s Park for arguably the shock result of last weekend’s Premier League action.
In doing so, Benitez’s side moved 13th in the table and two points clear of the relegation zone as a result of the win.
Matt Ritchie’s second-half strike proved to be the winner but the consensus is that Newcastle’s real hero of the day was Dubravka, who had a wonderful performance on his Premier League debut.
The Slovakian keeper made a series of fine stops to thwart Jose Mourinho’s side and although Lascelles suggests that Darlow was unlucky to lose the number one shirt due to his form, he can have no complaints after seeing the 29-year-old’s display.
“Darlow has been fantastic for us in the last couple of games and he has kept us in it and got points,” he told The Chronicle.
“The manager has put in a new goalkeeper and in all fairness he was ready. Martin was talking his way through the game and he was a confident keeper.
“It’s a great way for him to make his debut. The rest of us can’t thank him enough for the saves that he made.”
Darlow, a £3 million addition under Alan Pardew in 2014, won’t be giving up his first-team place just yet. It’s true that the number one shirt is now Dubravka’s to lose, but Newcastle’s goalkeeping situation has been anything but steady since August and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the 27-year-old got another chance at some point this season.
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