A number of gaping chances for Newcastle went begging but Loic Remy couldn’t finish as Jay Rodriguez ensured a point for visiting Southampton at St. James Park.
Southampton were on top of the possession battle early on, owning 67% of the time in the first half hour.
Despite the early jabs by Southampton, the opening chance fell to Newcastle’s Loic Remy, and it was a gaping opportunity.
Shola Ameobi found himself with space on the edge of the box in the 12th minute, and he cut it back for Remy with the goalkeeper having come out to challenge. The goal was gaping, but Calum Chambers cleared it off the line with a solid block.
Southampton began to build an attack of their own, and a few dangerous balls into the box developed a chance or two. James Ward-Prowse let fly in the 16th but it bent right to Jussi Jaaskelainen down low.
Newcastle found the breakthrough finally in the 27th minute, thanks to a bit of a mistake at the back by Southampton. With a long-distance free kick coming in, Mike Williamson put a head on the ball towards the front of the goal.
The ball fell to Saints defender Jos Hooiveld, but he whiffed entirely on the clear, and the ball instead found Yoan Gouffran who skipped past Gazzaniga and finished into the empty net.
The second half came and both teams traded blows, but nobody could capitalize.
Finally Southampton made the most of a chance, but it didn’t come from a build-up as they’d been trying to do all match.
It was a counter-attack that leveled for the visitors, as Jay Rodriguez broke with the two-on-one, and he played brilliantly with Steven Davis, and Rodriguez received the ball back perfectly just onsides before a first-touch finish.
The game exploded open. Southampton came close to going ahead just minutes later, and then Newcastle bungled a wonderful opportunity to retake the lead, as Loic Remy botched his second clear chance of the match.
After Newcastle pressed a bit, Paulo Gazzaniga gave the ball right back to Remy, and with nobody around Remy blasted well over with a chance to kill off the visitors.
Referee Mike Jones had a very rough last few minutes.
Moussa Sissoko was attempting to help up Gazzaniga during a stoppage of play as time wound down, but Gazzaniga didn’t appreciate the assistance. He pushed Sissoko’s hand away, and a flailing elbow caught Jones in the face, knocking him to the ground. Flagrant 1!
Jones received treatment for a bloodied nose, and not moments later he was called into action again. A bench fracas broke out, with assistant coaches from both sides getting into a tussle the referee was forced to break up.
It’s an unfortunate draw for both sides, but Newcastle will be disappointed with the result having wasted a number of chances. They fail to jump Tottenham Hotspur, instead drawing even with Spurs on points in sixth position.
Southampton also could have desperately used three points, but will be a little happier with the away result as they go two clear of Manchester United in eighth place.
GOALS:
Newcastle – Gouffran 27′
Southampton – Rodriguez 65′
LINEUPS:
Newcastle – Krul; Debuchy, Coloccini, Williamson, Santon (Haidara 78′); Sissoko, Anita, Tiote, Gouffran (Ben Arfa 73′); Shola Ameobi (Cisse 60′), Remy.
Southampton – Gazzaniga; Chambers, Lovren, Hooiveld, Shaw; Cork, S. Davis, Ward-Prowse (Lallana 45′), Rodriguez; Lambert, Osvaldo (Schneiderlin 45′).
