Davide And Co Keep It Clean

By Anthony Marshall - Newcastle United Club Reporter

Davide Santon believes practice made perfect for United as they picked up what could be a crucial point away at Norwich on Saturday.

While the goalless draw at Carrow Road was nothing to write home about from an attacking perspective, the Magpies put on a defensive masterclass to snuff out a side who are a formidable outfit on their own patch.

Only Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea have triumphed in East Anglia this season, making the stalemate even more impressive as Newcastle ended a run of four successive defeats in all competitions.

And Santon revealed that he and his teammates had been grafting hard to put right their recent defensive shortcomings.

"It was a very good point, especially because today we were solid on the pitch," the left-back told nufc.co.uk in an exclusive interview.

"We had a great defence, right up until the final whistle.

"In training all week we have been working on defending, defending, defending, and today we looked much more solid because of it.

"Unfortunately we just couldn't score and it was difficult with only one or two chances, but the clean sheet and a point away from home was very important for us.

"We knew before the game that it was not going to be easy to come to Norwich and get anything. Big teams have lost here, so we can be proud of our performance."

Santon was part of a defensive unit which included new signing Mathieu Debuchy, signed from Lille last week.

And the Italian international was impressed with his new teammate, believing Debuchy will continue to improve after an encouraging debut showing.

"It is always difficult in your first game but when he has trained with us more and is speaking the language it will be easier," explained Santon.

"But I think he is a very good player who can help us.

"He did well today, looked confident and experienced and I think he can be a great player for Newcastle."