Newcastle Respond with Dominance After Leeds Defeat
Newcastle hit back with bite after their bruising 4-1 defeat to Leeds, ripping into Hull with a blistering start that set the tone for a frantic afternoon.
It took just three minutes for the response to arrive. Willock, sharp and ruthless, burst through and drilled his finish past Konstantinos Tzolakis, the £20 million summer signing who had conceded only twice before this game. Any sense of a quiet settling-in period for the Hull goalkeeper vanished on impact.
Newcastle smelled blood. Four minutes later, they struck again.
Hall, fresh from his recall to the England squad, surged forward from deep, combined neatly with Harvey Barnes in a slick one-two and then swept a low shot into the far corner. Two attacks, two goals, and Hull were reeling. Jakirovic’s newly promoted side looked stunned, but they did not disintegrate. They stayed in the fight, even as the scoreboard and the stadium roared against them.
Jaissle, though, had problems of his own. His team sheet was a patchwork of what was left. Tino Livramento’s hamstring injury on Friday made him the latest addition to a growing absentee list, with eight senior players unavailable. The bench was thin. The midfield was even thinner.
Into that gap stepped 18-year-old Sean Steur, handed a start in the middle of the park. Newcastle still played on the front foot, pinning Hull back for long spells in the first half, yet the game refused to drift into a procession.
Deep into stoppage time before the interval, the hosts had a golden chance to kill it. Jacob Murphy was felled by Sorba Thomas in the box, the referee pointed to the spot, and Yoane Wissa took responsibility. His run-up was measured, the strike less so. Tzolakis guessed right and pushed away the tame effort, a crucial save that kept Hull alive.
That escape jolted the visitors. Before the whistle, they almost punished Newcastle’s wastefulness. Thomas darted to the near post to meet a cross from Matt Crooks, only to send his effort just off target. The warning was clear: this game was far from over.
Second Half
After the break, the pattern began to shift. Legs tired, spaces opened, and Jaissle rolled the dice. Steur, after an industrious shift, made way for Fabian Schär as Newcastle moved into an improvised back three. The tweak was meant to steady them.
It did the opposite.
A miscommunication at the back, with Lewis Miley caught out, handed Hull their lifeline. Mohamed Belloumi pounced, robbed him, and slipped the ball into the path of substitute Mohamed-Ali Cho. The former England youth international needed no second invitation, curling a precise left-footed finish beyond Lukas Hornicek from close range. Suddenly, 2-0 had become 2-1, and the mood inside the ground flipped.
From there, it was Hull’s turn to dictate. They poured forward, wave after wave, slinging crosses into the box, testing Newcastle’s reshuffled defence from every angle. Shots flew in, blocks flew back. What had looked like a comfortable afternoon turned into a backs-to-the-wall operation for the home side.
Newcastle clung on. When the final whistle came, it brought more relief than celebration, but the job was done. Three points, a response, and a climb to eighth in the table, level on eight points and tucked just behind seventh-placed Hull on goal difference.
Now comes the international break and a chance for Jaissle to patch up his squad before they face Coventry City, with momentum tentatively restored. Hull, beaten for the first time after two wins and two draws, must swallow this setback quickly as Jakirovic turns their focus to Everton and the next test of their top-flight credentials.
