Nick Woltemade was among the first Newcastle United players to communicate on social media after the defeat to Sunderland.
The Tyne-Wear derby returned to the Premier League stage for the first time in nine years and, sadly, Newcastle United fans saw history repeat itself.
Once again, the Black Cats beat the Magpies at the Stadium of Light.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Was this just unlucky or could Nick Woltemade have done anything differently?
Indeed, a farcical own goal from Woltemade of all people sealed Newcastle’s 1-0 defeat away at Sunderland.
Eddie Howe’s side were just at the races on Sunday, as is usually the case in away games right now.
The German started for Newcastle on Wearside and endured a miserable derby day debut.
After the game, he sent a message to supporters on Instagram.
Nick Woltemade thanks Newcastle United fans for positive messages after own goal
It was certainly unfortunate from Woltemade, who was just trying to clear a cross.
In all honesty, that wasn’t the main issue with his performance. A freak accident can happen, after all, and Dan Burn would surely have been in that position had he not gone off injured.
Frankly, it was Woltemade’s attacking play that let him down the most.
As disappointing as he was, it can’t be a nice situation to be in. Woltemade has been brilliant for Newcastle and that was a cruel twist.
On Sunday night, the forward posted a story on his Instagram page. It was a photo of him clapping towards supporters after the game, captioned: “Derby day hits different. This one hurts a lot. Thanks for all the positive messages, Geordies!”
Who was Newcastle United’s most disappointing player vs Sunderland?
Feel free to list all of them in the comments 👀
Jacob Murphy has told Nick Woltemade what he needs to hear after Newcastle United own goal
There are questions to be asked of Woltemade’s attacking display against Sunderland.
He was hugely ineffective from a Newcastle perspective, failing to hold the ball up and getting outmuscled by the Sunderland defence.
In fact, Woltemade even annoyed Anthony Gordon by failing to pass to him against Sunderland.
As for the own goal, however, it’s not something on which to focus.
Rarely will he ever be in that position again.
Woltemade alone isn’t to blame for Newcastle’s defeat and teammate Jacob Murphy was keen for him to know that after the game.
Speaking to Premier League reporter Andy Sixsmith (via social media platform X), Murphy said: “Nick – he’ll be gutted. Nobody wants to score an OG. He’s been magnificent since he signed. Really good lad. We’ll be around him. He needs to keep his head up.”
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