A tactical message scrawled on a piece of paper passed from Bruno Guimaraes to Jonjo Shelvey lay in tatters on the lush turf at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tonight after a tough afternoon for the Magpies in the capital.
At 3-1 down, and the damage arguably done, Newcastle United dropped Shelvey into a back five before quickly changing tact and opting for damage limitation as Jamaal Lascelles returned to the fold. No matter what United tried after the break though went wrong and in truth, it could have been even worse.
On a day that had at one stage promised so much as Swiss defender Fabian Schar hammered home a free-kick with just six first half minutes remaining, a week of trawling through video content now awaits. Even after defensive alterations, Newcastle could not avoid a hammering in the capital and while they remain clear of the relegation zone this felt like a wake up call in North London.
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The Magpies have rightly had the plaudits in recent times but they now face a test of character in the last eight matches. Thankfully they have three consecutive home games to regroup with those clashes on Tyneside giving them a chance of securing safety before what would be a nervous run-in.
United arrived in North London having never lost at Spurs' revamped stadium but were up against an Antonio Conte side vying for a Champions League spot. Howe did not opt for a defensive strategy from the start like he had at Chelsea last month, when he went with five at the back, and instead persisted with the more ambitious 4-3-3 formation that had previously served him well.
Yet he ended up reverting to the same defensive shape albeit with varying personnel. The home side tried to make an impact in the early stages with Heung-Min Son's corner swept in for Eric Dier but the England international headed over the bar.
Harry Kane then got a clear sight of goal but took a heavy first touch and sent an effort wide of the upright on 14 minutes. Joelinton then bundled over former Parma man Dejan Kulusevski a minute later but Dier's free-kick was well wide. Allan Saint-Maximin had made a lively start to the game but felt the force of Rodrigio Bentancur on 19 minutes although he was back on his feet after treatment soon after.
Joe Willock got a glimpse of a chance mid-way through the first half but was met by a sliding tackle from Cristian Romero. On 29 minutes Son turned menacingly in the final third but he could only drill his shot at Martin Dubravka.
With 10 first half minutes left Spurs moved the ball down the right as Royal shifted it to Kulusevski who picked out Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but the former Bayern Munich man denied after good defending from Javier Manquillo who rose with him to prevent him getting an effort anywhere near Dubravka's goal. The real drama unfolded on 39 minutes when Willock was sent tumbling just outside the box.
Shelvey and Matt Targett left it for Fabian Schar who curled it majestically into the bottom corner of Hugo Lloris' net. After a nervous VAR check for United after a possible handball the goal stood.
There was almost a sense of disbelief for a half a second as Newcastle fans watched it ripple the net before Schar sprinted to the travelling fans. At that stage, a heavy scoreline like this did not seem conceivable. But Newcastle could not see the half out as they failed to clear a corner before Son sent the ball back in and Ben Davies flicked it into the corner of the net.
The first half then ended in stormy fashion as Joelinton and Saint-Maximin were booked, along with Bentancur, for a melee. Both backroom teams were keen to get their players down the tunnel as things boiled over.
The second half started in a similar manner when big Dan Burn was booked for a tasty challenge on Kane. It was Kane who then crossed to put Spurs ahead when he found Matt Doherty at the back post who headed home just three minutes into the second half. Manquillo collapsed while Schar barely got near the cross.
United had hardly recovered from going behind when Spurs increased the damage on 54 minutes. Kane again toiled before finding Kulusevski before the Sweden star crossed from the right to find Son who drilled home. That was the cue for Howe to make a double change as he introduced Bruno Guimaraes and Jacob Murphy for Joelinton and Manquillo. The tweak saw Shelvey drop into the back five.
However, Spurs continued to inflict pain on the Newcastle defensive rearguard and after Doherty had played a one-two with Kulusevski his right-wing cross found Emerson Royal who poked home. With 21 minutes to go Willock headed over from Bruno's cross before Howe opted to make another change. The Toon boss introduced Jamaal Lascelles with the centre-back moving into the back five and Shelvey pushed back into midfield.
Yet the alterations at the back did little to stop rampant Spurs with Lascelles unable to prevent sub Steven Bergwijn peeling off his marker before calmly picking his spot to make it 5-1 after Lucas Moura's pass with seven minutes to go. With the former Ajax ace clearly in the mood he thundered a shot just over moments later as Spurs threatened to inflict further damage.
Kane, who had a sparkling afternoon without getting on the scoresheet, sent one whistling wide on the 90 minute mark and there were probably sighs of relief as there were only three minutes of stoppage time announced. United's players faced the music and applauded the away fans who'd made the long journey south. A big week now on Tyneside awaits with Wolves at St James' Park on Friday night.
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