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We set about our business quickly - Haïdara
Written by Rory Mitchinson
Massadio Haïdara felt that Newcastle United’s fast-paced start was key to their pre-season victory at Heart of Midlothian on Friday.
Rolando Aarons had already rattled the woodwork by the time Dwight Gayle opened the scoring early on, latching onto a Siem de Jong ball before calmly finding the net.
Aarons, Mohamed Diamé and Christian Atsu all came close to extending the Magpies’ lead before the Jam Tarts’ Esmaël Gonçalves squandered the chance to level from the spot after Haïdara’s foul on Jamie Walker.
Walker did restore parity just seconds later, but Gayle quickly put United back in front after heading in a Jonjo Shelvey corner, and 2-1 was how it finished.
Haïdara – who played for more than an hour at Tynecastle – thought that Newcastle were quick to set about their business against Ian Cathro’s side, but admitted they still have plenty of work to do.
“It was the first game for us, and the third game for them, so I think we did well,” he told nufc.co.uk. “The first 20 minutes, we were fresh. After that, we went down a little bit. We started very well and tried to play football, and tried to get forward quickly. We scored twice, so it was very good.
“It was very good to see where we are physically. It was a good test against a good team. As we can see, we still have work to do to progress. I think we will get better as the weeks go by.”
Rafa Benítez now takes the Magpies to Ireland for a week-long training camp ahead of next Saturday’s visit to Preston North End.
And Haïdara – who was restricted to just a handful of appearances for United last term – is hopeful of further game-time in the run-up to the new Premier League campaign.
“I am still working on my condition, but it is always good to have minutes in pre-season,” he said. “I hope I can get some more minutes in the next game and in the next few weeks. I am trying to look forward. If the manager needs me, I am here. I have to impress when I play and try to learn more day by day, that is all I am asking of myself.
“It is always good to go away for pre-season. We have time to stick together, and it will be good just to focus on the work.”
"The first 20 minutes, we were fresh. After that, we went down a little bit. We started very well and tried to play football, and tried to get forward quickly. We scored twice, so it was very good."