Newcastle’s champions league aspirations were dampened but not extinguished on a cold and wet night at St James’ Park as Borussia Dortmund epitomized the saying ‘there is no substitute for experience in European football’.
Perhaps their previous two outings in the Champions League – a defeat in Paris followed by a home draw with AC Milan - led us to believe that last season’s Bundesliga runners up would be a pushover for Eddie Howe’s high pressing team. But a team with only one domestic league defeat in their previous 27 games were never going to be anything other than organized and so it proved as Edin Terzic marshalled his own players version of the famous yellow wall with a view to soaking up Newcastle’s high pressing and movement.
Yet it was Dortmund who had the first effort of the match as early as the first minute when Donyell Malen fired a shot at goal after a fine solo run only for Nick Pope to save the effort with his feet.
Newcastle’s first effort came on five minutes when Anthony Gordon’s curling shot produced a fine save from Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel.
The game ebbed and flowed and the difficult playing surface seemed to be affecting both teams, with overhit passes the main cause for concern for both sets of supporters.
Nick Pope was again in the thick of the action on 13 minutes when he produced a fine double save deny first Malen then the dangerous Niclas Fullkrug.
And it was Gordon again who looked likely to score when he was slipped through by Alexander Isak but once again Kobel came to Dortmund’s rescue.
And that pass by Isak proved to be his final contribution as he pulled up with what looked like a recurrence of the groin injury that has been hampering him of late with Callum Wilson coming on as his replacement.
For the next 20 minutes Dortmund seemed to be getting the measure of Newcastle’s style of play and started to get a grip through their own patient possession game that was taking the sting out of Newcastle’s bite and when they did get opportunities, they squandered them.
Joelinton squandered a good chance without putting any pressure on Kobel and when Newcastle won a freekick, the debating class of Trippier and Schar combined to send the resulting effort high into the Leazes End.
Dortmund got the breakthrough just before half time that their ever-gaining composure deserved through a composed finish by the impressive Felix Nmecha.
The Newcastle players went in at half time particularly unhappy with the Portuguese referee who seemed to drift between pedantic and not interested, depending which way the ever-swirling rain was blowing.
The second half was played at the pace that Dortmund dictated and while Newcastle continued to apply pressure, they were thwarted by a combination of resolute German defending and poor passing, with both sides guilty at times of overelaborating; seeking to play “Hollywood” passes when simple retaining possession was the easier and safer option.
Newcastle came desperately close to claiming a point in the closing stages when Wilson hit the bar with a header and Gordon had a shot was deflected on to the woodwork in the dying seconds that remained.
The fact that Newcastle didn’t look as comfortable against the well drilled German’s as they did when trouncing the more flamboyant Parisians a fortnight ago will have given Eddie Howe something to think about as his own European football education took another step forward.
Howe can also look to the fact that as the game progressed, his side saw their cohesion disrupted by the unforeseen injuries delivered on Isak and Murphy; that Longstaff had to be withdrawn midway through the second half after feeling unwell prior to kick off; and Joelinton is obviously still not fully over his own injury problems.
Perhaps their previous two outings in the Champions League – a defeat in Paris followed by a home draw with AC Milan - led us to believe that last season’s Bundesliga runners up would be a pushover for Eddie Howe’s high pressing team. But a team with only one domestic league defeat in their previous 27 games were never going to be anything other than organized and so it proved as Edin Terzic marshalled his own players version of the famous yellow wall with a view to soaking up Newcastle’s high pressing and movement.
Yet it was Dortmund who had the first effort of the match as early as the first minute when Donyell Malen fired a shot at goal after a fine solo run only for Nick Pope to save the effort with his feet.
Newcastle’s first effort came on five minutes when Anthony Gordon’s curling shot produced a fine save from Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel.
The game ebbed and flowed and the difficult playing surface seemed to be affecting both teams, with overhit passes the main cause for concern for both sets of supporters.
Nick Pope was again in the thick of the action on 13 minutes when he produced a fine double save deny first Malen then the dangerous Niclas Fullkrug.
And it was Gordon again who looked likely to score when he was slipped through by Alexander Isak but once again Kobel came to Dortmund’s rescue.
And that pass by Isak proved to be his final contribution as he pulled up with what looked like a recurrence of the groin injury that has been hampering him of late with Callum Wilson coming on as his replacement.
For the next 20 minutes Dortmund seemed to be getting the measure of Newcastle’s style of play and started to get a grip through their own patient possession game that was taking the sting out of Newcastle’s bite and when they did get opportunities, they squandered them.
Joelinton squandered a good chance without putting any pressure on Kobel and when Newcastle won a freekick, the debating class of Trippier and Schar combined to send the resulting effort high into the Leazes End.
Dortmund got the breakthrough just before half time that their ever-gaining composure deserved through a composed finish by the impressive Felix Nmecha.
The Newcastle players went in at half time particularly unhappy with the Portuguese referee who seemed to drift between pedantic and not interested, depending which way the ever-swirling rain was blowing.
The second half was played at the pace that Dortmund dictated and while Newcastle continued to apply pressure, they were thwarted by a combination of resolute German defending and poor passing, with both sides guilty at times of overelaborating; seeking to play “Hollywood” passes when simple retaining possession was the easier and safer option.
Newcastle came desperately close to claiming a point in the closing stages when Wilson hit the bar with a header and Gordon had a shot was deflected on to the woodwork in the dying seconds that remained.
The fact that Newcastle didn’t look as comfortable against the well drilled German’s as they did when trouncing the more flamboyant Parisians a fortnight ago will have given Eddie Howe something to think about as his own European football education took another step forward.
Howe can also look to the fact that as the game progressed, his side saw their cohesion disrupted by the unforeseen injuries delivered on Isak and Murphy; that Longstaff had to be withdrawn midway through the second half after feeling unwell prior to kick off; and Joelinton is obviously still not fully over his own injury problems.
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