Newcastle 4-1 Preston: Toon back in the Premier League as Ayoze Perez brace, Christian Atsu and Matt Ritchie secure promotion- Ayoze Perez kicked off Newcastle's promotion party after seven minutes
- Jordan Hugill threatened to spoil the when he equalised for Preston soon after
- Christian Atsu got the Toon back on track, getting the second before the break
- After Paul Gallagher's saw red for a goal line handball Matt Ritchie converted
- Perez got his second of the match when he bundled home from close range
The DVD review of this season is unlikely to be a bestseller, even in these parts. In fact, 'Job Done' would perhaps be the most appropriate title.
Rafa Benitez, though, will argue that it matters not - and he is right. The Spaniard never promised to decorate this division with beautiful football and emerge from it in a blaze of goals and glory.
Preston's second-half collapse here did put a shine on their promotion party, but Newcastle haven't so much been limping towards the finishing line as crawling towards it in recent weeks.
They have, in all likelihood, surrendered the title to Brighton, but Benitez has said from the outset that an automatic return to the Premier League was only ever the priority.
And that target was made safe last night thanks to a double from Ayoze Perez and goals from Christian Atsu and Matt Ritchie. Jordan Hugill had threatened to delay their ascent when he equalised after Perez's opener and, for large spells, Preston were on top.
That was before skipper Paul Gallagher was dismissed for deliberate handball after half-time and the hosts, belatedly, took control.
And it is that - control - that Benitez will now seek from owner Mike Ashley. Control, that is, to build a squad capable of surviving next season, for this one would not, and Benitez knows it.
It was exactly a year ago when Benitez stood on the patio outside of his manager's office and surveyed the potential of Newcastle United.
There, in front of a vast green of training ground pitches, he shared with confidants his vision for the rebuilding of a football club which was teetering on ruin. His team were not yet relegated from the Premier League and his own future was undecided.
But Benitez knew of the promise which resided on Tyneside, possibilities which simply did not exist for him elsewhere.
Their stuttering finish to this campaign has perhaps muddied it for some, but that is wrong. For without Benitez this season would have been played out to the backdrop of supporter protest, dwindling crowds and graffiti-daubed bedsheets.
Instead, Benitez used relegation as the motivating force to persuade the club to reengage with a fanbase which had long since been ignored and belittled. The club had become inward looking, a poisonous place to be around. Benitez changed all of that.
There have been bumps in the road, of course, and Benitez was far from happy when Ashley refused to sanction the re-signing of Andros Townsend in January. Such issues surrounding budget and final say on transfers remain a concern, but efforts from above have already been made to calm the situation heading into a pivotal summer.
For the team which begins next season will bear little resemblance to this one, whose shortcomings have been exposed of late.
The loss of top goalscorer Dwight Gayle to a hamstring injury has hit them hard in recent weeks. His replacement, Aleksandar Mitrovic, has scored just six times this season. Given that four of those came against Preston over two matches in October, you would have thought he might fancy this one.
And the Serbian did see an early curler from the edge of the area brushed around the upright by the gloves of a full-stretch Chris Maxwell.
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[ 此帖被羅力亞在2017-04-25 04:53重新編輯 ]
