Eddie Howe praised his striker Callum Wilson for his efforts last night saying it was one of his best games for Newcastle United.
Callum Wilson was very quiet last night in the game against Brighton. He’d had the fewest touches in the game midway through the first half despite Newcastle‘s dominance and constant threat.
He was much more involved in the second half and perhaps should have had a goal just before Deniz Undav made up for his first-half own goal and grabbed Brighton a brief foothold in the game. Miguel Almiron had just drilled a volley right at Brighton ‘keeper Jason Steele and the ball ricocheted to Wilson who nodded the ball onto the roof of the net.
Wilson left it late to nab his goal against Brighton
His meaningful contribution to the game came in the 89th minute when he pounced on Miguel Almiron‘s perfectly weighted through ball to go one-v-one with Steele before slotting home.
Wilson then added to his goal with a brilliant assist. One again seemingly through on goal, Wilson was pressured into a difficult position, instead of going for the finish, he turned and laid the ball off for the advancing Bruno Guimaraes who lashed the ball into the net.
Wilson wasn’t done yet, however, finding himself in another one-on-one with Steele this time Wilson seemed to be unsure what to do, whether to slot it beyond Steele again or go for the chip. Ultimately he unleashed a tame shot that was scooped up by Steele.
Howe hailed Wilson for his ability to lead the press
Speaking after the game, Eddie Howe praised Wilson’s performance on Sky Sports saying: : “He’s been incredible and I feel that his performance was right up there with one of the best I’ve seen him play, purely from a tactical perspective.
“He has to lead the press and the one we bounce off initially. He kept going right until the end and his goalscoring record is excellent.”
Howe’s comments highlight something that a lot of fans miss. Yes, Wilson barely touched the ball in the first half and his lack of chances looked like an issue, but the reality is, he was making the runs, pulling the defenders out of position and creating the space for the likes of Miguel Almiron and Alexander Isak to create.
Wilson also never stopped running and pressing. At one point he was poised like a 100m sprinter in the blocks waiting for Steele to play the ball out of his area so he could chase it down. He had fire in his belly and deserved his goal.
Incidentally, that’s now 11 goals in 10 games for Wilson, the most of any striker in Europe’s top leagues. Not bad, Mr Wilson. Not bad at all.
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