Jacob Murphy certainly made the most of his appearance off the bench against Aston Villa.
The winger came on in the 79th minute in place of Ryan Fraser. And despite playing only 15 minutes, he was Newcastle’s most dangerous player.
Murphy immediately injected more pace into the Magpies’ attack, and actually had our best chance of the game at 0-0.
After picking up possession on the edge of the box, he did brilliantly to cut back and take two Villa players out of the game.
All he had to do was find the target, but instead Murphy’s effort crashed off the bar. He avoided the defenders, he beat the keeper, but he couldn’t find the net.
And when Ciaran Clark’s own goal gave Villa the lead just moments later, it felt like a real sliding doors moment.
But Murphy certainly atoned for his error.
It was his cross in the final minute that Jamaal Lascelles headed home, salvaging a point late on.
It was an absolutely fantastic cross in, full of whip and pace. All Lascelles had to do was direct it towards goal.
Murphy had an incredible impact off the bench, and has put up a strong case to start next weekend against Brighton.
He was direct and looked to make things happen, and was central to our two biggest moments in the final third.
The 26-year-old has played a much bigger role than most expected this season, and his performances have won us multiple points.
His assist got us a point tonight, while a similar cross got us all three against West Brom before Christmas. And his late free kick versus Wolves got us a draw at Molineux.
That’s five points that he’s been directly responsible for.
Murphy is proving to be something of a key player, despite often coming off the bench. Regardless, fans are full of praise for the former Norwich man.
Newcastle fans want to see more of Jacob Murphy
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