Key events
81 min: Newcastle are running just a little harder now, feeding off the energy of the crowd and their lead.
GOAL! Newcastle 2-1 Tottenham (Isak 78)
I didn’t see that one coming. Spurs are completely cut open by a Joelinton through ball that Murphy rushes on to as Udogie switches off. Murphy can have a go himself inside the box … but he rightly squares it to Alexander Isak to slot into an open net.
76 min: Porro’s desperate desire to get on the scoresheet results in another corner for Spurs … the ball eventually finds its way to Brennan Johnson inside the box, who set the ball on to his left foot in a tight space … only to send the shot high into the sky.
74 min: Odobert’s tricky afternoon is over; Timo Werner replaces him. Maddison nearly scores a screamer, curling the ball from outside the box with his left foot … Pope moves to his right to push the ball out for a corner.
73 min: Gordon is brushed off the ball by Brennan Johnson, who skips down the right wing and tries to find Son with a sliding ball across the six-yard box … Bruno rushes back to intercept, nearly scoring an own goal. It travels out for a corner.
72 min: Newcastle are losing the ball carelessly in their own half, but Spurs are struggling to convert; Odobert has been particularly wasteful.
71 min: Dragusin rises in the middle from the corner … but heads wide.
70 min: Burn loses the ball outside his own box, with Odobert racing on to the loose ball to have a shot … but it’s diverted out for a corner.
68 min: Sandro Tonali gets plenty of love from the Newcastle crowd as he makes his return to the Premier League after a 10-month ban.
67 min: James Maddison gets a yellow for a crunching effort on Bruno.
66 min: Newcastle finally cause some bother with a fine move forward. Gordon plays the ball to the overlapping Murphy on the left, whose poked finish is saved well by Vicario.
65 min: Johnson’s havoc continues, his low ball from the right collected by Pope as Son tried to get on the end of it.
63 min: Brennan Johnson, looking lively, wins the ball up the pitch before sending in a cut-back from the right wing … no one’s there to make contact. Moments later the winger wins Spurs a corner.
61 min: Barnes is off for Newcastle, with Jacob Murphy replacing him.
60 min: Spurs are dominating this game now, and they have a free-kick from a central shooting position, about 25 yards out. Porro’s effort beats the wall … but dips over the crossbar.
Newcastle 1-1 Tottenham (Burn OG 56)
It was coming! Maddison cuts in from the left, inside the box, and his shot is straight at Pope. The goalkeeper should probably hold on but parries it to his left, where Brennan Johnson flings himself to get an effort on goal. Pope gets a hand on it, but Burn, trying to clean up the mess, diverts the save into the net.
53 min: Oh dear. Johnson’s ball from the right is deflected, looping high into the air as Odobert rushes in at the far post … but he knees it wide from close range. A header would’ve been more likely to produce an equaliser for Tottenham.
51 min: Odobert slides in a fine ball from the left wing for Udogie, venturing into a centre-forward position (as you do), but he’s offside.
49 min: Spurs work it around Newcastle’s box, searching for any gap. Bissouma loses the ball to the onrushing Gordon but he has no support to make something of it.
47 min: Porro shows real stubbornness to drive inside and play a fine ball across the six-yard box but he can’t find a Spurs shirt to nail the finish.
46 min: A tidy link-up between Son and Kulusevski – playing through middle while Johnson and Odobert occupy the wings – results in a blocked shot from the Swede.
The players are making their way back out. Ange decides to shake things up: Brennan Johnson is entering the game, replacing Pape Sarr.
More book discussion – I’m really enjoying it – this time from Stephen Walker.
“Fingers crossed for the new Murakami – 1Q84 was his last really good one for me but I’ll be reading his next one as soon as possible hoping for a return to form.
“The only book I’ve read this year that I have really liked is Martyr by Kaveh Akbar – very good – you will not be disappointed.”
And a hello to Joe Pearson, who wrote this before Harvey Barnes slotted in:
“While we wait for the goals to pour in (I may have placed a wager on the over), my book recommendation is ‘Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence’ by R.F. Kuang, a fascinating alternate history of 1830’s England. Brilliant.”
Back to the correspondence. Here’s Kári Tulinius:
“I share Maxime Doneaux’s nostalgia for dribbling, and fear that the modern game doesn’t allow players that freedom. Jack Grealish comes to mind as a natural entertainer who’s had the fun excised. Only a handful of superstars are still allowed to make the audience laugh with their skill, e.g. Mbappé, Dembelé and Yamal, but they’re rare.
“Oh, and if Karen Asad is waiting for the new Murakami, she could do worse than the delightful – there’s even a football connection – There Is No Such Thing as an Easy Job, by Kikuko Tsumara, who’s half-way between Murakami and another Japanese great, Yūko Tsushima.”
HALF-TIME: Newcastle 1-0 Tottenham
It’s been hyper-active, with Spurs looking the better side for most of it, lacing in shot after shot … but Newcastle are in front after a delicate finish from the impressive Harvey Barnes. This game’s got legs.
45+4 min: Isak hold the ball up brilliantly before switching it to Livramento on the right, who dinks in a return cross … Vicario leaps high to collect.
45+2 min: A free-kick for Spurs is whipped into the box from the right by Porro, but there doesn’t seem to be a target man for any of their set-pieces at the moment. Dominic Solanke is missed.
45+1 min: It’s attack versus defence as Spurs camp inside Newcastle’s half. A ball goes into the box for Maddison to get a head on … but he doesn’t have the height to direct it at goal.
45 min: We’ll have five minutes of extra time.
44 min: Newcastle’s high-press nearly leads to some bother for Spurs, but the visitors recover after a couple of slip-ups.
42 min: Maddison plays it on the carpet to Kulusevski inside the box, but the rehearsed set-piece is quickly interrupted by Newcastle’s defence.
41 min: Udogie tries to drive into the box but is founded by Longstaff, who gets a yellow for his efforts. Maddison will look to whip a ball into the middle from the left …
40 min: The Newcastle support find their voice, Spurs pass it around in midfield, hoping to silence them.
GOAL! Newcastle 1-0 Tottenham (Barnes 37)
The free-kick is cleared away but Newcastle work it down the left, with a terrific cut-back cross from Llloyd Kelly finding Harvey Barnes, arriving into the box, who guides the ball in with a fine side-footed finish. It’s very much against the run of play.
36 min: Udogie takes down Livramento out on Newcastle’s right, providing the hosts with a free-kick. Gordon will be the man to swing in the cross …
34 min: Oooh, not a great challenge from Sarr in midfield. He finds Lloyd Kelly’s shin with a 50-50 challenge. It’s a straightforward yellow for the Spurs midfielder.
32 min: Vicario pats Anthony Gordon’s inswinging delivery away – the keeper’s not looking entirely convincing from set-pieces. Spurs then have a corner themselves, worked brilliantly to Porro for a strike from the edge of the box … but he can’t beat the bodies crowded in front of goal.
31 min: Spurs lose the ball in midfield and Isak twists and turns on the left, eventually winning Newcastle a corner.
29 min: Maddison drives the ball in but it’s cleared away. Porro has a strike from range … but it travels over.
28 min: Kelly gets a yellow for pulling Son down after the Tottenham forward pulls off a nutmeg on the left. Free-kick for Spurs, with Maddison looking to curl it into the mix …
