Steve Bruce’s 1,000th game as a manager did nothing to ease the pressure on his position as Newcastle United boss, as the ‘Magpies’ slipped to a 3-2 defeat against Tottenham, and failed to mark a new era of ownership with a much-needed maiden win of 2021/2022.
There was already plenty of speculation over Bruce’s position, following the Saudi-backed takeover of Newcastle United ten days ago, but the ‘Magpies’ made the perfect start at a raucous St James’ Park, as Callum Wilson headed home Javier Manquillo’s cross after less than 120 seconds. Spurs quickly dampened the home crowd’s enthusiasm though, as Tanguy Ndombele curled into the far corner to equalise when picked out in space inside the area.
Spurs were now in the ascendancy, and took the lead just four minutes later when Harry Kane netted his first goal of the campaign. He benefited from VAR overturning an offside call after lobbing Carl Darlow, with a brief review confirming his third goalscoring appearance at St James’ Park in as many seasons. Lucas Moura then rattled the bar, before a 25-minute suspension in play before half-time due to a medical emergency in the crowd.
The restart was understandably subdued, although Heung-Min Son added a third in injury time when converting from close range from Kane’s cross. That put the game to bed, with Newcastle providing little in the way of a meaningful response after the break.
Chants of ‘We Want Bruce Out’ rang around St James’ Park in the final ten minutes as Newcastle’s evening stooped to a new low when substitute Jonjo Shelvey was sent off when picking up his second yellow card in the 83-minute. Newcastle were handed a lifeline when Eric Dier netted an own-goal in the last minute, but could not find an equaliser, as they sunk to second bottom in the Premier League table.
