Eddie Howe names 'outstanding' Newcastle United player after Man Utd defeat - it's not Lewis Hall
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe was impressed with a few of his players despite the 1-0 defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Newcastle United suffered more away-day misery as they lost 1-0 at Manchester United on Boxing Day.
Patrick Dorgu scored the only goal of the game at Old Trafford as The Magpies suffered a fifth defeat in their last six Premier League away matches.
Newcastle dominated possession at Old Trafford but couldn’t find a breakthrough as Eddie Howe’s side missed the opportunity to break into the top half of the table, having spent almost the entire first half of the campaign languishing in the bottom half.
Eddie Howe makes ‘step forward’ claim despite defeat
Despite the negativity surrounding the result, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe felt his side took a ‘step forward’ when it came to the performance.
“I think you could make an argument that we should have got something [from the game],” Howe said “But ultimately we haven’t. And we’ve had that feeling too many times on the road this year.
“Since the last international break—bar one big blip [v Sunderland]—I feel our performances have been better. [This] was another step forward in performance terms, but no one really wants to hear that because the result is the most important thing.
“Away from home, chance creation and keeping clean sheets are absolutely crucial, and we haven’t done either well enough.”
Football is BACK - subscribe to our Newcastle United newsletter for all the news straight to your inbox
Eddie Howe highlights NUFC trio as ‘three strongest’
While Newcastle couldn’t find a breakthrough as a team, Howe was pleased to see Lewis Hall continue his impressive form back in the side at left-back.
The 21-year-old saw a shot from distance come crashing back off the crossbar in the second half. But Eddie Howe namechecked two other Newcastle players as standout performers which could cause some debate amongst supporters.
The Gazette has launched a new WhatsApp NUFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join our NUFC WhatsApp channel.
“It was really good to see Lewis return to the form he had pre-injury,” Howe said. “Very, very good technically, I thought he and Anthony [Gordon] down the left-hand side played really well, and Lewis Miley on the opposite side was outstanding as well.
“Probably our three strongest players, but ultimately we’re a team, and the team hasn’t functioned well enough to win the game.”
Hall was named Newcastle’s ‘best player’ in our Shields Gazette player ratings after the match, scoring an 8/10. But Gordon’s performance was deemed ‘ineffective’ as the winger failed to deliver in key moments, scoring a 4/10 rating.