- Newcastle moves six clear of drop zone
- Rondon finds winner from Manquillo
- Terriers two points back of 17th
Salomon Rondon scored the lone goal as Newcastle United won its first match in four tries with a 1-0 defeat of Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday.
It’s Rondon’s fourth goal in six games, as Rafa Benitez’s Magpies move 14th. That’s six points ahead of 18th place, occupied by Huddersfield.
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A slow first quarter-hour, played in a downpour, ceded for a moment when Huddersfield Town keeper Jonas Lossl was injured reacting to a Christian Atsu dribble. Lossl stayed in the game.
Philip Billing went for goal on a long free kick, and the wet ball was poked over the goal by Martin Dubravka. A corner led to another corner, but nothing for the Terriers.
A quick free kick play for Newcastle led to Fabian Schar one-on-one with Lossl, but the keeper blocked the first effort and Schar passed the rebound to no avail.
Jamaal Lascelles saw yellow with an orangish high tackle on Laurent Depoitre in the 35th minute. Moments later, Terrence Kongolo’s tight angle rip was deflected, and collected by Dubravka.
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56' - It's a fantastically worked goal from the Magpies, with play starting from Dúbravka in goal before United worked the ball to Pérez, who slid the ball to Javier Manquillo. His brilliant cross was tucked away by Rondón. 0-1. #NUFC
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) December 15, 2018
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Both keepers made saves as Juninho Bacuna and Atsu traded low shots in the first 60 seconds of the second half.
Huddersfield had a good spell of possession, but Atsu again had the next dangerous moment as Lossl had to stop his first touch shot from close range.
Surprise! Newcastle took the lead completely against the run of play, stunning the John Smith’s Stadium when Ayoze Perez’s run down the right fed Javi Manquillo. The Spanish right back put an inch-perfect pass that Lossl couldn’t reach before Rondon.