Newcastle United fans expected another special Champions League night against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, but it wasn’t to be.
After the highs of the Paris Saint-Germain game, this was more of a reality check for the St James’ Park crowd.
There was a different feeling to the PSG game. On that night, the atmosphere built and built throughout the warmup, and carried on into the game and beyond, spurred on by an incredible Newcastle performance.
However, the decibels were not quite as high on Wednesday when Borussia Dortmund arrived on Tyneside.
While the pre-match display from Wor Flags was epic once again, the atmosphere was nowhere near the levels it was against PSG.
Now TalkSPORT pundit Jason Cundy has given his verdict on the Toon support, as Eddie Howe’s side dropped to third in their Champions League group.
Cundy thought Newcastle fans were ‘quiet’ against Borussia Dortmund
Following the 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund, former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy spoke on TalkSPORT about the St James’ Park crowd.
“Even though we know the atmosphere and how brilliant it can be, these guys play in front of this every single week,” he said.
“These are seasoned pros these guys. This is what they do. If you quietened the crowd, and there was a period in the second half where they started well, St. James’ Park was quiet. It was dead. All you could hear was the drum. It was Dortmund making the noise.”
Dortmund silenced St James’ Park
Cundy is right. Dortmund absolutely silenced St James’ Park at times on Wednesday night. Their performance helped keep the crowd quiet, while they were roared on by a wonderful travelling support – and a very loud drum.
There was a very different feel inside St James’ Park compared to the PSG game. While it was not as flat as it was on Saturday for Crystal Palace, it was nowhere near the standard it was for our first Champions League game at home.
There were moments when it was loud and raucous, but there was not continuous noise like there was against PSG. That was probably because of the scoreline, with Toon fans unable to ride a wave of momentum like they could against the Ligue 1 giants.
St James’ Park was subdued into silence at times, as Dortmund stifled Eddie Howe’s side to grab their first Champions League win of the season.
Now the Magpies have it all to do on the road, as they prepare to go to Germany and France before welcoming AC Milan to the North East.
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