Newcastle’s Champions League dream hits first reality check with defeat to Borussia Dortmund

Newcastle 0-1 Borussia Dortmund (Nmecha 45′)

ST JAMES’ PARK – After a dream start in the Champions League, here came a brush with cold, hard reality for Newcastle United as the St James’ Park roar was silenced by old hands from the Ruhr.

Was it Borussia Dortmund being that good or Newcastle’s European game plan being unpicked for the first time? At times in the relentless Tyneside rain it was difficult to tell, but this was a world away from the adrenaline rush of Paris Saint-Germain and a night where anything felt possible.

Eddie Howe was right when he said that win represented a “perfect” night and replicating it was nigh on impossible. But the scale of Newcastle’s first half drop-off will be a worry, as is the damaging loss of Alexander Isak to what looked like a knee injury. His effervescence and unpredictability is a central part of Newcastle’s attacking armoury and then can ill afford to lose him for a prolonged period of time.

Here, then, was a thudding reminder of the damage that visitors with a wealth of Champions League experience can inflict on even the most willing opponents. Edin Terzic’s slick side posed questions that Newcastle and Howe, notwithstanding a second half bombardment, couldn’t conjure answers for.

These sort of bumps on the journey are to be expected for Howe and a Newcastle team that have made such huge leaps over the past couple of years.

There should be no panic in the ranks, not least when they came so close to salvaging a point in a late rally that saw Borussia Dortmund’s woodwork lead something of a charmed life.

The winner came from the boot of Felix Nmecha, a player Newcastle had shown an interest in over the summer. His goal came at the end of the sort of sweeping move that Borussia Dortmund had threatened for much of the first half.

Their patterns and positioning were pitch perfect, snuffing out Newcastle’s intensity and flattening the enthusiasm of the sell-out crowd.

It wasn’t that Newcastle were bad. The visitors were simply as relentless as the rain that lashed St James’ Park for most of the night. Donyell Malen’s menace was ever present, from a foray into the penalty area in the first minute that forced a fine save from Nick Pope to the late surges that strained tiring Newcastle sinews.

Pope was excellent for the third Champions League matchday in a row, inviting further scrutiny of Gareth Southgate’s mystifying decision to omit him from the most recent England squads. One first half double save from Malen and then Germany striker Niclas Fullkrug beggared belief. As Premier League rivals trip over themselves to answer goalkeeping problems they didn’t actually have, Pope’s sturdiness is a reminder that there is joy in the simplicity.

Player of the match

Nico Schlotterbeck. A performance of supreme control from Borussia Dortmund’s captain. His sliding challenge started the move that created the goal.

Unfortunately for Newcastle, Gregor Kobel was also in the mood. The closest they came to a leveller was when substitute Callum Wilson darted into the box with purpose mid-way through the second half but his shot was superbly saved.

He came even closer as Newcastle pushed for a late leveller, brushing a header against the crossbar. St James’ Park inhaled, sensing a late rally and Anthony Gordon clattered the bar again in injury time with a deflected shot.

For Newcastle there are further issues hovering on the horizon. Sandro Tonali was sent on with just over 20 minutes on the clock to a predictably rapturous reception but was largely unable to influence the contest.

In Italy they anticipate a 10-month ban from football is imminent. If that is so it felt like an underwhelming way for such a talented player to punctuate his career.