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Clinical edge required, says skipper
Written by Rory Mitchinson
Jamaal Lascelles feels Newcastle United have to be more “ruthless” in the final third after the Magpies slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Huddersfield Town.
United have still to find the net since their return to the Premier League, and left the John Smith’s Stadium empty-handed as Aaron Mooy’s 50th-minute strike did the damage for Huddersfield.
Mooy was afforded the room to play a one-two with Elias Kachunga before curling beyond Rob Elliot from 20 yards, a goal that could have been avoided, according to the Magpies’ skipper.
And, although they huffed and puffed after falling behind – Ayoze Pérez and new signing Joselu among those to threaten – Lascelles thinks the Magpies must develop a clinical edge as they look to get their season up and running.
“They only had one shot on target and it went in. We had a lot of chances and unfortunately none of them went in, so it’s one of those where we need to look at ourselves,” he told nufc.co.uk. “I thought we started off well. We stuck to our game-plan, we were compact, we were narrow, we knew they’d have a lot of possession – like they did last year – but they didn’t really create that much.
“We need to watch the goal back and see what we could have done better, because (Mooy) shouldn’t have been allowed to take a touch and shoot from there.
“I do think we could have done a bit more. We could have been more ruthless, because they were in their own half. We had a lot of good chances to equalise and we could even have gone on to win it. But, in the Premier League, it’s not about how many chances you have, it’s about turning those chances into goals.
“We can’t be too down. Now is the time to be positive. We have to stick together, re-group, and get ready to go again.”
"In the Premier League, it’s not about how many chances you have, it’s about turning those chances into goals."