Joelinton’s strike secured Newcastle a 1-0 victory against newly promoted Southampton at St James’ Park in their Premier League opener on Saturday, despite being reduced to 10 men in the first half.
Fabian Schar was shown a red card in the 28th minute for retaliating after a foul by Ben Brereton Diaz, but Southampton couldn’t capitalize on the advantage, and Newcastle managed to take the lead just before halftime.
Southampton goalkeeper, Alex McCarthy, made a poor pass intended for Jack Stephens, which was intercepted by Alexander Isak. Isak then set up Joelinton, who calmly took a touch and fired a low shot into the corner of the net.
“Southampton are a very good team. They made it difficult for us but I think we did well in the end,” Joelinton commented. “The team showed great character to defend and it’s great to start the season with a clean sheet.”
Southampton applied pressure in the second half, searching for an equalizer, but Newcastle held firm to secure all three points.
Newcastle had dominated the early exchanges, though Southampton gained confidence and had the ball in the net in the 10th minute, only for Jack Stephens’ goal to be ruled out for offside.
Schar’s red card came after he reacted to Brereton Diaz’s challenge, which led to the Swiss defender making contact with his opponent’s head, resulting in the latter going down theatrically. The referee didn’t hesitate to issue the red card.
Despite being a man down, Newcastle took full advantage of McCarthy’s error just before the break to head into halftime with the lead.
“We had 60 minutes playing against 10 men. We had enough chances to win the game, let alone draw it, but I’m so proud of the team,” Southampton manager Russell Martin told the BBC. “We made one mistake and we paid the price. Maybe it’s that little bit of belief (that’s missing) but I’m really proud of the team today.”
Five minutes into the second half, Adam Armstrong’s close-range effort was cleared off the line by Newcastle defender Lewis Hall, and goalkeeper Nick Pope made a crucial save to tip over another Armstrong attempt.
“We should have scored three goals today. We brought on every attacking player we had,” Martin remarked. “I don’t think we learned anything new about our players today, apart from the fact they’re new to this league.”
Southampton continued to press and created late chances through Carlos Alcaraz and Cameron Archer, but Pope was equal to the task, helping Newcastle maintain their lead.
Eddie Howe’s side celebrated a home win on the opening day for the third consecutive season.
In another match, Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo salvaged a point for his team with a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest, a game overshadowed by a serious injury to Forest’s Brazilian midfielder Danilo.
Danilo was stretchered off just 10 minutes into the match following a collision with Semenyo, leading to a significant stoppage as medical personnel attended to the injured player. The incident visibly distressed several players from both sides.
Chris Wood appeared to have secured the win for Forest, but Bournemouth struck late to level the score.
Forest went ahead in the 23rd minute when Ryan Yates’ close-range shot was parried by goalkeeper Neto, with Chris Wood quickly following up to score.
The hosts looked in control, but Bournemouth equalized in the 86th minute when Semenyo blasted the ball in from close range.
Dango Ouattara thought he had leveled the match earlier from a corner, but the goal was disallowed after VAR confirmed that Lewis Cook was offside in the buildup.
Forest had numerous opportunities to extend their lead but struggled with their finishing.
Morgan Gibbs-White came close to securing a late winner with a right-footed shot.
Bournemouth, missing last season’s top scorer Dominic Solanke after his transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, posed little threat to Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels throughout most of the game.
