Newcastle United 2–1 Hull City: Magpies Secure Narrow Win as Wissa Misses Penalty
Newcastle United staggered into the international break with three points, not swagger. A 2-1 win over Hull City at St James’ Park snapped the visitors’ unbeaten start, but it did little to quiet every doubt around this young Magpies side.
Two clubs tipped for trouble in August now sit in the top half of the Premier League. You wouldn’t have guessed that from the tension in the closing stages.
Lightning Start, Heavy Legs
Newcastle flew out as if stung by that Gameweek 4 hammering at Elland Road. They tore into Hull, and inside seven minutes the game looked close to done.
Joe Willock struck first, Lewis Hall added the second, and Harvey Barnes threaded both together with two sharp assists. Two attacks, two goals, same provider. Hull barely had time to breathe.
Newcastle kept coming. Better final balls and a cooler head in the box could have turned it into a rout before the break. A missed penalty on the stroke of half-time only added to the sense of waste. Hull managed just three shots in that opening 45 minutes, clinging on more than competing.
Then the fuel gauge hit red.
The rolling xG numbers told the story. Newcastle’s intensity dipped, the tempo dropped, and Hull started to punch back. Physicality again became Newcastle’s problem – not in the tackle this time, but in the tank. The hosts faded badly, conceding 19 shots after the interval and inviting pressure they didn’t need.
Hull’s expected goals total ended up higher than Newcastle’s, even with the Magpies’ penalty baked into the numbers.
Head coach Matthias Jaissle didn’t try to hide the issue.
“You saw that after 50, 60 minutes, the legs were getting tired.
“We have a young, young squad and they need to adapt to the physicality of that league, so that you can perform like this over 90 minutes plus additional time. So, that will be also the next step for the upcoming weeks and months.”
Newcastle responded to the Elland Road debacle. They won. But nobody inside St James’ Park left thinking this was a fully convincing reset.
Wissa Steps Up… And Comes Up Short
With all three of last season’s penalty takers gone in the summer, the obvious question was who would grab the ball from 12 yards.
Yoane Wissa did.
His owners in FPL won’t want the replay. Wissa’s first-half penalty was saved, a tame-enough effort despite the xG on target reading of 0.92 that underlines how well the Hull goalkeeper did. It wasn’t a howler, but it lacked conviction.
Even so, Wissa’s career record from the spot – 13 scored from 16 – still holds up. Whether he keeps the job after this is another matter.
Jaissle didn’t linger on the miss post-match and refused to pin anything on his striker.
“He was playing on a high level today. Also sacrificed a lot, worked a lot out of possession for the team, and yeah, missing a penalty, that can happen, but he showed up personality also in the second half.”
The praise was about industry, not end product. Wissa and Mathias Fernandez-Pardo both earned warm words for their work rate. That doesn’t translate into fantasy points, and neither does drifting wide or dropping deep as often as Wissa did.
He was, though, a stud’s length away from a tap-in twice. Jacob Murphy whipped one cross just beyond him in the first half, and Malick Thiaw inexplicably lashed the ball across the six-yard box when a simple square pass would have left Wissa – or Barnes – with a finish from point-blank range. Barnes, already on four attacking returns this season, could only watch those moments slide away.
Injuries Pile Up, Break Comes At The Right Time
Newcastle’s squad issues deepened before a ball was even kicked. Tino Livramento became the ninth player on the injury list, ruled out with muscle discomfort after training.
“He suffered with some discomfort in the morning from yesterday’s training. So, at the moment, we should have also the results already from the MRI but nothing for now from my side,” Jaissle said.
During the game, Sean Steur and Mathias Fernandez-Pardo both limped off, raising fresh alarms in midfield.
“Hopefully, only fatigue and tired legs again, in part due to our brave approach,” Jaissle added, sounding more relieved than worried.
Given the physical drop-off on the pitch and the length of the absentee list off it, the international break has arrived at a useful moment for Newcastle.
Hall, Botman And The Rise Of DefCon
If there’s a department where Newcastle can claim to be among the league’s most diligent, it’s defensive contribution.
All four members of the back line picked up DefCon points here, with Lewis Miley again filling in at right-back. Thiaw, Hall and Sven Botman have now registered DefCon returns in three of their five league outings, and Botman’s 59 defensive contributions put him joint-top among defenders.
No side has produced more clearances, blocks or interceptions this season than Newcastle’s 240. They might wobble late in games, but they do not stop throwing bodies in the way.
For Hall, that defensive volume is only half the story. He remains a serious attacking threat. His goal – Newcastle’s second – came from a well-timed surge and a clean, rifled finish. He nearly got on the end of a Murphy cross as well and continued on corner duty, adding another route to returns.
Hull’s Fight, Belloumi’s Spark
Hull will travel home with regrets. Start better and they probably take something.
Once they settled, they grew into the contest and then took it over in the second half. A late siege on the Newcastle goal felt like it deserved a reward, but the equaliser never came. The Tigers, widely tipped as relegation fodder, again refused to play the part.
“We showed already 100 times that we will never surrender there. We have good mentality, good character and we will play till the end. So, unfortunately, just we miss goals,” said Sergej Jakirovic.
The shot count underlined that point. The top three players for attempts in the match all wore Hull colours.
At the top of that list: Mohamed Belloumi.
The winger’s efforts often came from distance, but they were never speculative. Shots whistled past the post, others forced saves, and one almost turned a goalkeeping error into a gift. When Lukas Hornicek spilled a routine ball, Belloumi pounced, only to see his close-range effort smothered.
He did find a telling final ball late on, slipping in a neat assist for substitute Mohamed-Ali Cho. Belloumi now sits fourth among FPL midfielders for points, and his defensive work is just as relentless. He has hit double figures for defensive contributions in four of his five starts, only just missing the 12 needed for a DefCon return here.
Hull leave with nothing but respect. Newcastle leave with the win they needed and a reminder they still have growing up to do. When this young squad finally marries that frantic first 15 minutes with the resilience of the last 15, what will their ceiling look like?
