Newcastle United first-half player ratings: How Joelinton, Kieran Trippier, Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes fared v Tottenham Hotspur in South Korea.
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Whilst Eddie Howe prepared his Newcastle United side for their final match of their tour to Asia, all of the pre-match headlines and coverage was dominated by one of their opponents as Son Heung-Min played his final match for Spurs in his home country. The Magpies, meanwhile, were debuting their new green away kit.
Howe made eight changes to the starting XI for their clash with Spurs, with just Lewis Miley, Anthony Gordon and Nick Pope retaining their places. Just four minutes into the match, the latter was forced to pick the ball out of his net as Brennan Johnson fired his team ahead from the edge of the box, via a big deflection off Dan Burn.
The Magpies were able to recover from that early setback and enjoyed most of the possession in the opening stages. Gordon in particular looked dangerous and set up Newcastle’s first chance of the half with a smart dribble and cut back to Joelinton, but the Brazilian failed to turn the ball home.
The former Everton man then went close himself, latching onto a pass from Murphy but his effort was deflected harmlessly past Antonin Kinsky’s goal. Spurs then went up the other end and should have doubled their lead when Mathys Tel surged past Matt Targett to go one-on-one against Pope, however, the Magpies man stood firm to deny Tel a golden opportunity.
Joelinton was next to go close for Newcastle United, but his header failed to test Kinsky. Howe’s side did restore parity before the break when Harvey Barnes slammed home after a swift counter-attack.
After a really entertaining first-half, a number of interruptions meant that the second period struggled to ignite. The first real bit of quality came when Gordon thought he had put his side ahead, only to be denied by the offside flag.
The pace of the game slowed further in the sweltering heat of Seoul and stopped altogether for a brief moment in the second half as Son received a guard of honour from both teams when he was substituted off by Thomas Frank. Lewis Hall then marked his first return to the pitch since February when he replaced Kieran Trippier with 15 minutes of the game to go.
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Newcastle United player ratings v Tottenham Hotspur
Nick Pope - 6
Very shaky with his feet early on but did fantastically well to deny Mathys Tel when he broke through 1v1. Didn’t have much to do in the second half. Subbed off late on.
Kieran Trippier - 6
Played spoilsport for the home crowd as he was tasked with keeping Son quiet. Did very well against the South Korean international but was booked for fouling him in the 31st minute. Replaced by Lewis Hall with 15 minutes to go.
Fabian Schar - 6
Confident on the ball as usual but saw some speculative passes miss their range early doors. Saw a powerful long range shot fly over the bar. Subbed off late on.
Dan Burn - 7
Unfortunate to see Johnson’s strike take a wicked deflection off him, but made a wonderful recovery challenge to deny the Welshman a second goal just six minutes after netting his first.
Matt Targett - 4
Very weak against Tel and had his goalkeeper to thank for saving his blushes. An underwhelming afternoon before being replaced by Livramento just after the hour.
Bruno Guimaraes - 8
Always wanted the ball and was happy to receive it in some tough moments. Calm and composed performance from the captain. A real leader of the team and put in a very good full match shift.
Lewis Miley - 5
Tidy on the ball but did get dominated physically at times. Fairly anonymous as the game progressed.
Joelinton - 5
Should have scored in the 15th minute but couldn’t get a good enough contact on Gordon’s pull back. Sloppy in attack at times with some heavy touches slowing down threatening looking attacking moves. Should have done better with a free header in the 23rd minute. Physical but careless with the ball at times.
Jacob Murphy - 6
Had a poor start to the game and was robbed in possession ahead of Spurs’ opener. Suffered a knock but improved as the first half went on and put in a number of dangerous deliveries throughout. Taken off with 15 minutes to go.
Anthony Gordon - 8
Led the line in the absence of Isak. Did brilliantly with the ball at his feet and could have had an assist had Joelinton been able to turn his cut back home. Was an absolute menace for the Spurs defenders to deal with all day. Replaced by Osula in the 62nd minute.
Harvey Barnes - 7
Got in some threatening positions early and was clinical in his finish to slam his side level. Had a quieter start to the second half and couldn’t influence the game as much. Subbed off late on.
SUB: Will Osula - 6
Replaced Gordon in the 62nd minute. Pressed well but had very little attacking threat.
SUB: Tino Livramento - 6
Replaced Targett in the 62nd minute. Played an inverted role on the left before shifting to the right. Solid.
SUB: Lewis Hall - 7
Replaced Trippier with 15 minutes to go. Enjoyed some nice touches on his long-awaited return to action.
SUB: Park Seung-Soo - 7
Replaced Murphy with 15 minutes to go. Looked lively.
Replaced Schar in the 82nd minute.
Replaced Barnes in the 82nd minute.
Replaced Pope in the 82nd minute.
Replaced Joelinton with four minutes of normal time to play.