By SCM Sport Reporter at St. James’ Park
Newcastle United weathered a dramatic second-half onslaught to secure a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Hull City at a rocking St. James’ Park, driven by a scintillating opening spell from star winger Harvey Barnes.
The Magpies flew out of the traps in breathtaking fashion, effectively winning the match within the first six minutes.
Harvey Barnes was the undisputed architect of the early blitz, pulling the strings on the left flank and tormenting the visitors’ backline. Just two minutes into the encounter, Barnes whipped a delightful, pinpoint ball into the penalty box for Joe Willock, who controlled under pressure before drilling a crisp, powerful finish into the net to ignite the home crowd.
Before Hull City could gather their thoughts, Newcastle doubled their advantage in the sixth minute. Once again, it was the rampant Barnes providing the creative spark, orchestrating a fluid attacking combination that set up fullback Lewis Hall. Hall made no mistake, unleashing a precise strike to make it 2-0 and capping off a dream start for Eddie Howe’s side.
Despite the early nightmare, Hull City showed immense character and fought back into the contest. Their standout performer was goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis, who kept the Tigers in the match with a string of impressive saves.
Tzolakis produced his moment of magic in first-half stoppage time when Newcastle were awarded a penalty. Forward Yoane Wissa stepped up looking to seal the result, but Tzolakis dove brilliantly to push away Wissa’s heavy penalty kick, denying the Magpies a three-goal cushion right before the break.
Hull turned up the heat after the interval, dominating possession and territorial pressure as Mohamed Belloumi pulled the strings in midfield. The visitors’ second-half persistence finally paid off in the 67th minute.
Belloumi sliced open the Newcastle defense with an incisive through ball, allowing substitute Mohamed-Ali Cho to smash a clinical left-footed finish into the bottom left corner to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Hull threw everything forward during six nail-biting minutes of stoppage time, with Oliver McBurnie and Joe Gelhardt threatening an equalizer. However, Newcastle’s defensive unit held firm under intense pressure, anchored by strong performances from Sven Botman and goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček to seal all three Premier League points.
In terms of match statistics, Newcastle United dictated the tempo early on and ended the game controlling fifty-nine percent of the total ball possession, leaving Hull City with forty-one percent.
The Magpies demonstrated superior distribution quality, attempting four hundred and ninety-three total passes and completing four hundred and thirty-seven with an accurate passing rate of eighty-eight percent. By contrast, Hull City completed three hundred and fifteen accurate passes out of three hundred and ninety attempts, translating to an eighty percent passing accuracy.
The attacking numbers reflected an end-to-end clash; Newcastle registered eleven total shots, landing four on target, six off target, and seeing one blocked.
Hull City recorded thirteen total shot attempts, testing the home keeper with three shots on target while five went off target and five were blocked by Newcastle’s resolute defense. Newcastle earned four corners and were called offside twice, compared to seven corners and one offside for the visitors.
Defensively, Newcastle showed immense resilience in their own penalty box, making forty-four clearances, ten interceptions, and ten blocks, alongside winning eight out of ten attempted tackles for an eighty percent tackle success rate.
Hull City completed sixteen clearances, two interceptions, two blocks, and won twelve out of fourteen tackles for an eighty-five percent success rate.
Newcastle goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček made two key saves, while Hull’s Konstantinos Tzolakis matched that with two saves of his own, including the crucial penalty stop. discipline was well maintained by the hosts, who committed just four fouls and received one yellow card, whereas Hull City conceded nine fouls and accumulated four yellow cards throughout a fiery afternoon on Tyneside.