Alan Shearer told BBC Radio 5 Live Sport on Saturday that Jacob Murphy offered Newcastle ‘more’ during his ten minutes on the pitch than any of his teammates on Friday.
Newcastle left it late to record a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa, with Jamaal Lascelles header in stoppage-time salvaging a deserved draw for his side.
It was Murphy who laid the ball on a plate for the Newcastle defender, and in truth, he should have scored when he was introduced into the action when his effort hit the crossbar.
Shearer made it clear that a defeat would have been ‘very harsh’ on Newcastle, as he also offered his thoughts on Murphy’s impact from the bench.
“Newcastle showed a bit of urgency and intent in the final third (towards the end of the game) for once,” said Shearer.
“And Murphy came on for ten or 15 minutes and probably offered more in those minutes than any player in the Newcastle team offered before that.
“He hit the bar, sat two defenders down and created more than they did for a lot of the game.
“A draw was a fair result. I think a defeat would have been very harsh on Newcastle despite them not playing very well but Villa didn’t either.”
If Newcastle continue down this current road then there is only one way they are heading and that’s to the Championship.
Newcastle were playing a Villa side without Jack Grealish and a team going through a bad period in front of goal.
But what does help Newcastle’s cause is that both Fulham and West Brom were beaten on Saturday, so it’s a point gained rather than two dropped following those results.
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