Newcastle United’s Tyne-Wear derby defeat to Sunderland could not have gone much worse for Nick Woltemade.
If you had said at the start of the day that Nick Woltemade’s goal would settle the game, you would not expect anything other than a Newcastle United win.
Alas, it was an own goal from the 23-year-old that would give Sunderland victory over Newcastle United in the derby.
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It was a disastrous moment for Woltemade, who attempted to deal with Nordi Mukiele’s 46th minute cross. Instead, his header went into his own net off the underside of the crossbar past a helpless Aaron Ramsdale.
After a blistering start to his Toon career, this is a major low for Newcastle’s most expensive signing ever. Even beyond his own goal, he had a shocking afternoon on Wearside.
Nick Woltemade had 12 touches during Sunderland vs Newcastle United
It was a despondent display from the Germany international, who may as well have been in the crowd as a spectator at the Stadium of Light.
Woltemade was barely involved in the game, and that is summed up by the number of touches he had.
No player who started touched the ball less than him, with Woltemade sitting rock bottom with a tally of 12. That is even more concerning when you remember one of them was the header into his own net.
| Newcastle player | Number of touches vs Sunderland |
| Yoane Wissa | 2 |
| Nick Woltemade | 12 |
| Harvey Barnes | 18 |
| Joe Willock | 18 |
| Anthony Gordon | 22 |
This stat can be looked at in a couple of different ways. On the one hand, Newcastle simply were not getting the ball to their striker enough. That has been a problem all season, as the Magpies adjust to Woltemade’s style of play.
On the other hand, Woltemade was not offering enough up front on his own. You would expect a 6ft 6in striker to be an outlet, but he simply was not.
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Nick Woltemade’s aerial duels against Sunderland
Newcastle’s number 27 was bullied by the Sunderland defenders, winning just two of his eight aerial duels. That simply is not good enough. He needed to do what Brian Brobbey did for Sunderland, with the Dutchman proving to be a real handful.
With Newcastle sitting so deep, they needed someone to hold the ball up and get them up the pitch. Woltemade did not do that at all.
He needed to be a focal point and use his physicality, but instead the game passed him by until Eddie Howe put him out of his misery and brought on Yoane Wissa.
His performance once again highlights how crucial it is that Wissa is available, as the Magpies need him in the starting XI as soon as possible.
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