Key events
90+1 min: Into added time we go, with six minutes of extras scheduled.
89 min: Matty Cash is in the wars again, this time coming out second best from a challenge with Harvey Barnes. As he grimaces and rubs his lower back, Newcastle make another substitution. William Osula comes on for Barnes.
87 min: Guimaraes tries to play Gordon in behind with a low defence-splitting pass that fails to live up to its description and is blocked. Good defending – Gordon would have been clear through on goal there but might have been flagged for offside.
85 min: Dan Burn plays a backpass to Nick Pope and for a split-second it looks like he might have undercooked it, with Watkins waiting to pounce. Not a bit of it – the ball trundles serenely and unimpeded to the feet of Newcastle’s goalkeeper.
84 min: Newcastle substitution: Lewis Miley on for Joelinton. Villa substitution: Donyell Malen on for John McGinn.
82 min: In what could conceivably be interpreted as a subtle message to his board, Unai Emery has yet to make a change. Boubacar Kamara has slotted into the heart of Villa’s defence while Pau Torres remains on the bench.
80 min: Livramento sidefoots a cushioned volley across the face of goal after getting on the end of a diagonal from deep but his cross is just inches out of Anthony Gordon’s reach.
79 min: McGinn tries to pick out Rogers with a delivery into the Newcastle penalty area but Fabian Schar is on hand to head clear.
78 min: Harvey Barnes picks out Elanga with a cross but his fellow winger is unable to get a shot off or even steer the ball across the face of goal. Elanga has shown plenty of willing but he’ll be disappointed with his debut for Newcastle after missing two excellent chances to score. His number goes up and he’s replaced by Jacob Murphy.
74 min: Still huffing and puffing from his last interaction with the ball, Cash is forced into action again and on this occasion ships a thumping Harvey Barnes volley in the stomach from close range. Lying in a heap on the ground, he looks very sorry for himself but after a few more gulps of air gets to his feet and soldiers on.
72 min: Matty Cash leaps selflessly to block a speculative Gordon piledriver from distance and has the wind knocked out of his breadbasket. After a quick breather he’s OK to continue.
70 min: While Villa can have no complaints about Konsa’s dismissal, I don’t think the foul was necessary. The angle of Gordon’s run suggested he did not have a direct run on goal and if Konsa hadn’t fouled him he might have strayed a little to right and wide to get off a shot. It’s mere speculation on my part, your honour and we’ll never know for sure.
68 min: On the back of Konsa’s foul, Newcastle have a free-kick about eight yards outside the Villa penalty area. It’s another one from the training ground and one that almost certainly should have stayed there. At least the Villa fans enjoyed it.
Red card! Villa are down to 10 men
66 min: Newcastle attack on the break and Elanga plays a through ball to Gordon, who gets the run on Ezri Konsa. The Villa defender brings him down outside the penalty area and referee Chris Pawson doesn’t hesitate before brandishing the red card.
64 min: A good Villa move through the centre ends with Rogers playing the ball into the feet of Watkins. He shoots straight at Nick Pope from a promising position and Newcastle dodge their second bullet of the half.
62 min: Matty Cash gets forward again before playing the ball inside to Morgan Rogers but before too long it makes its way back to the feet of Marco Bizot in the Villa goal.
58 min: Boubacar Kamara has his name taken for a foul on Elanga and Newcastle get a free-kick about 35 yards from the Villa goal. It’s one from the training ground and the ball’s worked to Fabian Schar to volley a cross or shot from the byline but Dan Burn hasn’t been studying the playbook and clatters into his own teammate by accident. “Dan Burn defends everything,” quips Ally McCoist on TNT Sports.
56 min: Now Ollie Watkins clips a cross from the left into the Newcastle box but it’s too high for Youri Tielemans. Villa have certainly upped their game since half-time but a lot of their passing and final ball delivery remains errant.
52 min: Youri Tielemans curls a wonderful teasing cross through the corridor of uncertainty in the Newcastle penalty area. It could scarcely be more inviting but there’s not a single one of his teammates in the vicinity to RSVP. Tielemans is not happy.
51 min: Industrious work from John McGinn down by the byline wins a throw-in for Villa deep in Newcastle territory. Matty Cash chucks the ball short to Kamara and within seconds it’s been played backwards all the way to the feet of Villa’s goalkeeper. Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa, who had lumbered up expecting Cash to Delap the throw-in their way will not be impressed.
49 min: Dan Burn hunkers down hurt after colliding with Ollie Watkins as the duo chased a fifty-fifty ball. I think he shipped a bang on the knee but is fine to continue after a moment of silent reflection.
47 min: Villa play the corner short, create an angle and McGinn curls a splendid cross into the Newcastle penalty area with his right foot. Kamara’s bullet-header from about seven yards is straight at Nick Pope, who saves comfortably.
46 min: Matty Cash drives a low cross into the Newcastle penalty area after good work by Boubacar Kamara. Dan Burn puts the ball out for a corner in front of the Holte End.
Second half: Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle United
46 min: Play resumes with Villa on the ball and no changes in personnel on either side.
Newcastle’s bench: It’s probably worth giving a shout-out to William Osula, who is also among the Newcastle substitutes and an actual striker by trade. It seems he has yet to convince Eddie Howe that he’s a “legitimate goal-scoring option” but he might get another chance to impress later in the game. The Dane only scored two goals for Newcastle last season but got three for his country in this summer’s European U-21 Championships.
Some correspondence from Down Under: “Excellent response from the players to all the external noise about Isak,” writes Chris Paraskevas in Western Sydney. “We could have really used a goal from Elanga and I fear Villa will get the chance to regroup (not sure what they were playing at). Who are Howe’s legitimate goal-scoring options off the bench? Pretty much only Jacob Murphy. If we lose tonight, you could hardly blame Eddie Howe – he’s set Newcastle up perfectly.”
An email: “Whilst there’s no doubt that Isak is a great striker, he is also quite streaky (see Aug-Oct and April-May last season for reference) and frequently not in the mood, so seeing him miss big chances is not a rarity,” writes Adam Berry. “I think getting a good fee for him and spending it on two proven strikers will drop our ceiling but also massively raise our floor over a potentially lethargic Isak and a crocked Wilson.”
Half-time: Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle
It’s all square at the break. But make no mistake, Newcastle have been the vastly superior team. They should have taken an early lead when Anthony Elanga was played in behind the home defence but the debutant was denied by a splendid save by Marco Bizot, who is playing his first game for Villa. Elanga went on to snatch at another glorious opportunity, while Anthony Gordon should have done much better after getting on the end of an inch-perfect Harvey Barnes cross. Villa have offered comparatively little and can consider themselves very fortunate not to be behind.
45 min: Joelinton gets booked for a decidedly robust tackle on Amadou Onana. He can have no complaints and takes his licks without comment or protest. It’s half-time.
44 min: Newcastle remain in firm control of this game as we approach half-time but the deadlock remains intact. McGinn wins the ball in midfiedl and surges forward but has nobody up in support apart from Watkins. The Scot is unable to pick out the Villa striker.
42 min: The barbers of Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton have been applying it liberally too, which is making things a mite more difficult than they need to be when it comes to identifying tough-tackling Newcastle ball-winners.
40 min: It’s Rogers whose hairdresser has been playing fast and loose with the peroxide, just in case you’re pondering.
