Newcastle United would have left the Goodison Park pitch at the end of Saturday’s early evening kick-off frustrated with how the contest played out, as that decisive goal to win the Premier League clash constantly eluded them.
It’s not as if Everton couldn’t have snatched the three points either, as Sean Dyche’s men amassed eight shots on Nick Pope’s goal, but the clash would end as a drab 0-0 stalemate come the full-time whistle.
Of course, former Toffee Anthony Gordon could have made that different for the away side if he had managed to convert a first-half penalty past Jordan Pickford.
Gordon's performance in numbers
Pickford once again came up trumps for the Merseysiders in-between the sticks, denying Gordon’s weak spot-kick to send Goodison Park into raptures, as their former academy product fluffed his lines.
It would have been a frustrating afternoon in truth for the England international, who was jeered throughout whenever he attempted to make something happen for Eddie Howe’s side after he jumped ship to the Magpies without hesitation last year to bring his long-standing Toffees association to a close.
The roar of the home faithful didn’t see Gordon completely recede into his shell, however, with the slick 23-year-old nearly winning the tight contest late on, only for him to blaze a golden chance over the bar with nine minutes left on the clock.
Gordon just couldn’t add to his two-goal tally for the campaign, as the visitors from Tyneside had to make do with a share of the points due to some wasteful finishing from their forward players.
The 23-year-old was not the only culprit for Howe’s visitors, as Harvey Barnes also looked low on confidence when advancing forward for this team.
Harvey Barnes' performance in numbers
Barnes wouldn’t even register a single effort on Pickford’s busy goal during the 0-0 draw, with Gordon at least adventurous enough to test out his former side with some shots to try and hand his current employers a win.
Unsuccessful with both of his dribble attempts during the draw too, the former Leicester City man was nowhere near his rampaging best, with Howe then substituting off his below-par number 11 just after the hour mark.
Minutes played
62
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
39
Accurate passes
18/22 (82%)
Shots
0
Successful dribbles
0/2
Possession lost
13x
Total duels won
4/11
Alongside his weak showing in front of goal, Barnes also squandered possession a costly 13 times for his side and made just 18 accurate passes in the process, leading to Howe rightly hooking him off.
It was an uncharacteristically quiet display from the usually bright Newcastle number 11, who had three strikes and one assist next to his name this season in the top flight, before heading into this clash versus a side loitering near the bottom of the Premier League.
No such away day heroics like this sumptuous goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers from last month were on show, however.
Indeed, Barnes had to make do with a lacklustre 5/10 rating post-match from Newcastle World writer Jordan Cronin instead, who stated that the ex-Foxes winger would have been ‘disappointed’ with how little he threatened Dyche’s men.
Barnes will hope he can dust himself down and go again afresh when the Magpies face off against Brighton and Hove Albion after the international break, with Gordon also potentially re-energised and raring to go after his unwelcome trip back to Merseyside.
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