Jacob Murphy—one of Newcastle United’s surprise breakout players this season—had himself a day last week against Crystal Palace. He blasted in an opening goal from the tightest of angles. This electrified the game, providing Newcastle a quick 1-0 advantage. This spectacular goal was a wonderful demonstration of Murphy’s ability, range and accuracy that had everyone watching on the edge of their seat.
The retrospective football match played out on a cool, sunny Saturday at St James’ Park. Newcastle joined their English Premier League compatriots in Crystal Palace by taking a strong line. The excitement didn’t end there. The atmosphere was electrifying as fans packed the bleachers, waiting to see an epic clash between rival foes. Newcastle’s intent was obvious right from the start. Just like in the first two minutes of the first half, Murphy capitalized on an opportunity she had and put it home.
Murphy’s second-half goal was an excellent demonstration of his technical ability. There he twisted through the trees to get into position. With pinpoint accuracy, he took a shot that snaked into the goal from an extremely tight angle. The execution was that brilliant, leaving the Crystal Palace goalkeeper without a prayer of getting a hand to it. This goal proved to be the first of the match, but beyond that, it set the tone for Newcastle’s early onslaught of their foes from the South Coast.
Given how this game developed, Newcastle just continued to roll, energized by Murphy’s excellent goal. Whatever lingering belief issues remained after the first goal broke, the team’s confidence surged, and they continued to apply pressure on Crystal Palace’s defense. Newcastle went up early and established the tempo they wanted to play at. This forced Crystal Palace into a reactionary mindset as they looked for an equalizer.
No matter how many chances Crystal Palace created, they just couldn’t get into a groove against a stout, difficult Newcastle defense. The home team displayed a perfect mixture of firepower and defensive solidity over the course of the match, stifling their opponents attack – led by Lukaku – at every turn. Murphy’s early goal proved to be a pivotal moment, as it set the stage for Newcastle’s performance in the remainder of the game.
Leave a Reply