Newcastle United cruised to a comfortable victory over Everton at St James’s Park on Tuesday night.
Eddie Howe’s outfit beat the Toffees 3-1 on Tyneside to move 17th in the Premier League standings, outside of the relegation zone.
It was a stunning performance from Newcastle and no doubt their passionate supporters helped the hosts against Frank Lampard’s troops.
However, it could’ve gone terribly wrong for the Magpies.
On 33 minutes, Jonjo Shelvey was booked for a challenge on Everton starlet Anthony Gordon.
But Neil Lennon, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, has fumed over the former Liverpool midfielder, arguing that it was a ‘totally unnecessary’ tackle and one that deserved a red card.
He said: “He has got his yellow card out but for me, it is a red. It was totally unnecessary. That was just a mad rush of blood.
“He was lucky, but for me there was intent and it should be a red. That is a leg-breaking tackle.”
Honestly, Shelvey certainly did take a massive gamble.
The 29-year-old, who cost Newcastle £12 million in 2016, is a massive player for United and his teammates would’ve been in a whole heap of trouble had their midfield linchpin got himself dismissed with an hour of football left to play.
At the time of the challenge, it was still 0-0 and honestly it’s an entirely different contest had the North-East outfit been reduced to 10 men before a goal had been scored.
However, Newcastle have been on the receiving end of some awful decisions this season and their fanbase will argue – perhaps rightly – that they were due a decision going in their favour eventually.
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