Matthias Jaissle’s first game in the St James’ Park dugout ended in defeat as Newcastle United fell 2-1 to Bayer Leverkusen in their penultimate weekend of preseason action.
Malick Thiaw cancelled out Ibrahim Maza’s lightning-quick opener shortly before halftime, but substitute Victor Boniface struck eight minutes from time to hand Newcastle a second consecutive defeat following Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to Everton.
The visitors barely allowed the home crowd to settle before taking the lead. Inside the opening minute, Maza found space 25 yards from goal and curled a ridiculous shot beyond Lukas Hornicek to hand Leverkusen an immediate advantage.
Newcastle responded well, however, with Yoane Wissa forcing former Brentford teammate Mark Flekken into an excellent save after a smooth exchange with 17-year-old Mason Miley, who joined his brother Lewis in the starting lineup.
As the first half progressed, Newcastle began to grow into the game, with Anthony Elanga testing Flekken from distance, Lewis Hall sending a free kick over the crossbar, and the Magpies gradually finding a bit more rhythm in possession of the ball.
One of the afternoon’s stranger moments arrived midway through the half when Newcastle abandoned their home shirts during the cooling break because of a color clash with Leverkusen’s jersey, changing into their powder-plum third kit before play resumed.
Anyway, and for what matters, the Magpies’ equalizer arrived just before halftime. Elanga delivered a deep corner from the left, and captain Malick Thiaw rose highest at the back post, powering an excellent header beyond Flekken to reward Newcastle for an ever-improving first-half display.
Jaissle’s only halftime change saw Rory Finneran replace Lewis Miley. Brother Mason lasted until the 81st minute and was good in putting together another solid performance at right-back.
Wissa led a dangerous counterattack before slipping Nick Woltemade through on goal coming off the halftime break, but the German’s low effort lacked conviction and was comfortably stopped by Flekken. Harvey Barnes also threatened as Jaissle’s side looked the more likely scorers for long spells of the second half.
Instead, Leverkusen struck the decisive blow eight minutes from time. Boniface, only moments after coming off the bench, received possession on the left, skipped past Sean Steur and curled a finish into the far corner. Hornicek managed to get a hand to the shot but could not prevent it creeping inside the post to restore the Bundesliga side’s lead.
Newcastle nearly rescued another equalizer late on when Wissa whipped a cross across the six-yard box, only for Barnes to narrowly miss making contact.
With Strasbourg visiting St James’ Park on Sunday, Jaissle has one final opportunity to learn about his side and apply the last touches to his XI before Liverpool arrives for the Premier League opener, where Newcastle will need to convert encouraging spells into results.
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