Newcastle United made the long journey south to face a team awaiting their first home victory of the season.
In years gone by this would have been a game where we would have succumbed to pressure from a plucky opponent.
This Newcastle United team used the fastest of starts, to put aside any anxiety surrounding a possible chastening loss to bed.
Murphy timed his run to perfection to spring the offside trap and Isak finished expertly from the cross to make it 1-0 after 25 seconds.
Newcastle’s positive attitude continued through the first 20 minutes with further chances for Isak, Gordon and Willock.
Sandro Tonali and Bruno continued to show their growing relationship as a Premier League midfield pairing of utter brilliance. It was hard to separate the two in the first half in terms of their performance, Sandro seemed to read everything Ipswich tried as if he’d been in their team talk pre-match and Bruno continually shrugged off would-be defenders.
Newcastle suffered a very brief lull in their performance around the 20 minutes mark but this didn’t last long with Isak going from the sublime to the ridiculous in spurning a clear cut chance for his and Newcastle’s second, firing tamely at a grateful Muric.
Newcastle didn’t have to wait too much longer for their second. Jacob Murphy continued his fine run of form, powering home from a pull back after an excellent driving run from Anthony Gordon.
Ipswich continued to show a lack of threat through the middle in the absence of Delap and with the 45 minutes up, the
Tractor Boys will have been relieved not to have been further behind. That being said, Newcastle did add a third in time added on before the break, following a catastrophic error at the back from the Ipswich back line to cede possession to a relentless Bruno who teed up Isak for a simple finish
Newcastle started the second half in confident fashion and Bruno was desperately unlucky to hit the post after a flowing Newcastle attack. However, it wasn’t a long wait until the lead was extended.
Another foray forward in the second half saw the ball break to Jacob Murphy in the Ipswich box. The former Canary was
full of confidence as he executed a perfect back heel to Isak who expertly tucked away into the bottom corner to seal his hat-trick.
The substantial lead allowed Howe to protect the legs of some of the team as he made five changes to help see out the remainder of the second half.
The final 35 minutes or so passed largely without event. Ipswich showed some frustration with a string of petulant fouls and Newcastle spurned several chances to add a fifth.
Dan Burn’s disallowed finish in stoppage time was the biggest chance but ultimately Newcastle delivered the perfect away performance, to send the travelling Geordies home happy for Christmas.
Ipswich 0 Newcastle 4 – Saturday 21 December 3pm
(Stats via BBC Sport)
Goals:
Newcastle United :
Isak 1, 45+2, 50, Murphy 32
Ipswich:
(In brackets the half-time stats)
Possession was Newcastle 59% (52%) Ipswich 41% (48%)
Total shots were Newcastle 15 (10) Ipswich 10 (4)
Shots on target were Newcastle 7 (5) Ipswich 2 (1)
Corners were Newcastle 1 (0) Ipswich 2 (1)
Touches in the box Newcastle 35 (20) Ipswich 20 (10)
Dubravka, Livramento (Trippier 64), Schar, Burn, Hall, Tonali, Bruno (Miley 80), Willock (Longstaff 64), Murphy (Barnes 64), Isak (Almiron 73), Gordon
Unused Subs:
Vlachodimos, Targett, Osula, Kelly
(Ipswich 0 Newcastle 4 – Instant Newcastle United fan/writer reaction – Read HERE)
(Ipswich 0 Newcastle 4 : Absolutely brilliant and Alexander Isak first NUFC hat-trick – Jingle bells! Read HERE)
Newcastle United upcoming matches:
Thursday 26 December – Newcastle v Villa (3pm) Amazon
Monday 30 December – Man U v Newcastle (8pm) Sky Sports
Saturday 4 January – Tottenham v Newcastle (12.30pm) TNT Sports
Week commencing Monday 6 January – Arsenal v Newcastle TBC
Sunday 12 January – Newcastle v Bromley (3pm) BBC iPlayer (FA Cup)
Wednesday 15 January – Newcastle v Wolves (7.30pm) TNT Sports
Saturday 18 January – Newcastle v Bournemouth (12.30pm) TNT Sports
Saturday 25 January – Southampton v Newcastle (3pm)
Saturday 1 February – Newcastle v Fulham (3pm)
Week commencing Monday 3 February – Newcastle v Arsenal TBC
Saturday 15 February – Man City v Newcastle (3pm)
Sunday 23 February – Newcastle v Forest (2pm) Sky Sports