Is possession overrated? It certainly seemed so for Chelsea as they manoeuvred the ball up and down a series of apparent blind alleys and culs-de-sac before ultimately seeing all that effort reduced to nothing when Isaac Hayden headed Newcastle’s stoppage time winner.
At times Steve Bruce’s side appeared to have developed an alarming allergy to passing between themselves but few occupants of the Gallowgate End were worrying about that as Allan Saint-Maximin redirected the fallout from a poor, partially cleared, Matt Ritchie corner and Hayden rose above all comers to clinch three precious points.
As T-Rex’s triumphalist lyrics of “we love to boogie on a Saturday night” blared out of the sound system at the final whistle, Newcastle celebrated a victory rooted in superb defending.
If it helps erase lingering relegation worries on Tyneside, Frank Lampard saw Chelsea’s grip on a top-four place slacken. “It’s been the story of parts of our season, we don’t score enough goals,” he said. “We controlled the whole game but Newcastle were very well organised. We had the lion’s share of possession but it’s not easy to get behind Newcastle, they don’t come out. We had to go from side to side. We’re controlling games without being clinical. We need a killer instinct.”
Steve Bruce – close to securing the Austria winger Valentino Lazaro on loan from Internazionale – was considerably happier with his side’s smash-and-grab masterclass. “We could look after the ball better,” he said. “But we’ve proved that, especially against the big teams, we’re difficult to play against, hard to beat and we never give up.”
The game had barely begun before his already extensive injury list grew a little longer. Jetro Willems twisted a knee and landed awkwardly following a tussle with Callum Hudson-Odoi before departing on a stretcher, in tears. “It looks a horrendous injury for Jetro,” said Newcastle’s manager, amid fears the left wing-back has ruptured a cruciate ligament.
A hip problem had left Andy Carroll in the stands, protecting his ponytail from Tyneside’s bitter January chill with a flat cap. He was out of his seat when the much improved Joelinton connected with Federico Fernández’s fine cross and powered in an unstoppable, distinctly Carroll-esque, header only to see it rebound off the underside of the crossbar.
Already Chelsea commanded around 70% possession, yet despite some high-calibre crosses and passes from the exciting, intelligent Reece James, they were largely restricted to half-chances. Granted Martin Dubravka saved well to deny N’Golo Kanté and Tammy Abraham but Bruce’s team arguably created the better openings, most notably when Jonjo Shelvey’s fabulously lofted free-kick was headed off target by Fernández.
As the subzero evening cold intensified the biggest winners seemed to be Newcastle’s new sponsors, Barbour International, the South Shields-based clothing company and winter coat specialists.
While Bruce’s players had all arrived at St James’ Park swaddled in insulated Barbour jackets, too much of Chelsea’s play had seemed semi-frozen, lacking the fluency and fluidity required to unhinge the excellent home back three of Fernández, Jamaal Lascelles and Ciaran Clark.
Much as James delighted in reminding everyone that England’s Gareth Southgate is spoiled for choice at right-back, too many of his teammates saw their undeniable technical assurance undermined by the sheer obduracy of Newcastle’s often immaculate organisation.
On this evidence Southgate should sign Bruce up to choreograph those out-of-possession coaching sessions beloved of FA technocrats. The way in which Willian was persistently, diligently and rapidly closed down looked testament to plenty of hard yards on the training ground.
As the clock ticked down, Lampard’s demeanour was increasingly that of a man fiddling with the dials as he struggled to find the correct frequency on a portable radio with slightly unreliable reception. His team were not quite on the right wavelength and even when Sean Longstaff’s mistake virtually gifted Abraham a goal, the striker miscued.
A draw beckoned but then Joelinton won that 11th-hour corner, the impressive Hayden eluded Kepa Arrizabalaga and Bruce defied a suspect knee and hip to make a celebratory leap almost as high as the scorer’s. Who needs high percentage possession?
