Newcastle United suffered the first defeat of Matthias Jaissle’s reign as Everton destroyed the Magpies with a sound 3-1 preseason victory at Murrayfield.
After putting together an encouraging comeback against Valencia, Newcastle were given a much sterner examination by Premier League opposition, with Thierno Barry, Iliman Ndiaye and Tyrique George scoring for the Toffees before Harvey Barnes grabbed a late consolation for the Magpies.
Jaissle
retained his 4-2-3-1 shape but experimented with Yoane Wissa operating behind William Osula, while new signing Aladji Bamba sat deeper alongside captain Joelinton.
Newcastle started on the right foot, more or less, with Wissa, Osula and Anthony Elanga all finding promising positions up front, while Bazoumana Toure continued his encouraging preseason by providing another direct threat from the left.
The problem was Newcastle could not convert that early pressure, and Everton was about to punish the Magpies ruthlessly. Sven Botman first lost possession around halfway and Barry exploited the mistake, advancing into space before driving a precise left-footed finish beyond Lukas Hornicek.
Things went further south nine minutes later, when Joelinton brought down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall inside the penalty area, allowing Ndiaye to step up and send Hornicek the wrong way from the spot.
And with that, Newcastle had gone from competing evenly at the start of the game to trailing 2-0 before halftime, with Everton showing exactly the sort of efficiency that Jaissle’s side lacked at the opposite end.
Jaissle effectively reset his team at the break, changing all 10 outfield players and handing significant minutes to several youngsters, including Mason Miley, Henry Johnson, Dylan Charlton and Sean Steur.
Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes and Nick Woltemade formed part of a much-changed attacking unit featuring all of the veterans available off the bench. The full-squad change inevitably disrupted Newcastle’s rhythm and brought a reset to the game, while Everton remained the more cohesive side.
Hornicek prevented the scoreline from becoming considerably worse with several saves, but Everton eventually added a third and final goal in the 73rd minute. George created room for himself before finishing from distance, giving Jaissle another reminder of how much work remains before Newcastle begins its competitive campaign in 10 days, against Liverpool no less.
There was at least something for the travelling support to celebrate late on, when Besiktas-bound Joe Willock helped open Everton up before veteran winger Murphy delivered from the right and Barnes converted for his second goal of preseason.
In a rather concerning comment, Jaissle acknowledged afterward that Newcastle will not be at their peak when the Premier League season begins.
“It’s clear we cannot be at our peak,” Jaissle said when discussing the upcoming opener against Liverpool set for Aug. 23.
Newcastle now returns to St James’ Park for two final preseason tests, facing Bayer Leverkusen and Strasbourg over the weekend before kicking off the Premier League campaign at the end of next week.
