Sean Longstaff has shared what he thinks Newcastle United did against Luton yesterday that ultimately cost them the three points.
At 1-0 up after seven minutes thanks to Longstaff’s opener it looked like it was going to be another one of those games for Newcastle where they control the match from start to finish, but that was far from the truth.
After the eight-goal thriller, Longstaff spoke to NUFCTV where he claimed that Newcastle were naïve after going 3-2 down and left themselves too exposed which ultimately resulted in Luton’s four goal.
Longstaff says Newcastle’s defending was ‘naïve’ vs Luton
During the game there was almost a sense that Newcastle expected to just roll Luton over, especially after beating Aston Villa who were statistically the best home team in the Premier League this season.
It was like they had taken their foot off the pedal after scoring the opening goal and they never truly showed their real qualities aside from that 10 minute spell in which they grabbed the third and fourth goals.
At 3-2, after Carlton Morris tucked away his penalty, there was definitely a bit of naivety from the team as Dan Burn lost the ball high up the pitch and Kieran Trippier committed himself but didn’t make a challenge.
It did end up costing them a big three points and they once again lost ground in the race for Champions League after that brilliant result at Villa Park on Tuesday which had given them hope.
In the interview, Longstaff said: “We lost our way a bit in the second half I think with their fourth goal we’re a little bit naïve. There’s still lots of time in the game and we go chasing and making the task harder for ourselves.
But good character to score the two goals at the end and on another day we could have probably won the game as well.”
Newcastle have to be more resilient
The very best in football have learned from experience how not to get themselves in these types of situations and it’s something that Newcastle are going to have to develop if they want to reach the top.
It’s strange to see because Newcastle were actually one of the best defensive teams last season and were so well organised at the back, but that looks to have unravelled this season.
There’s definitely been a lack of composure in the most recent run of home games where Newcastle have been so strong, and it’s massively impacting their chances of European football.
The team face another tough task as they travel to Nottingham Forest next weekend in a game where they really need to show their qualities and instil some confidence back into the players.
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