Fabian Schär is happy to live up to Newcastle fans’ expectations after blowing away the early-season cobwebs at Piledriver on day one.
The Magpies dominated promoted Nottingham Forest from start to finish on Saturday at St James’ Park, but nothing remained until the Switzerland international finally beat first-time keeper Dean Henderson with a 22-yard rocket 13 minutes into the second half. I was disappointed many times.
Shah’s timely intervention provided the basis for a 2-0 victory, something Amanda Stavely’s Saudi-backed consortium had fallen short of in more than 14 years under previous owner Mike Ashley. put an end to
The defender said, “The fans expect a lot from us this season. When you’re here it’s electric and you just want to give them a boost.
“We have a strong team, we have a lot of quality, but we know how difficult the Premier League is.
“We wanted to start the season well, but we have to focus on the next game and see what happens.”
The next match will be in Brighton on Saturday, with Eddie Howe and his squad heading south backed by a league win in the first question.
With Alain Saint-Maximán, Miguel Almiron, Joe Lington and Joe Willock flying around behind striker Callum Wilson, the Magpies were commanded from central midfield by the haughty Bruno Guimares, leaving Forest with far too much. did his nose forward.
In the event, when Shah took matters into his own hands, it took him 58 minutes to find a way past Henderson, and a second from Wilson solidified the points thanks to a deft flick in the 78th minute.
Shah said:
“We played great football for 90 minutes. We didn’t score in the first half, but we dominated the possession and had a lot of chances.”
It was a cool afternoon for Forest, who were unable to push Newcastle’s new keeper Nick Pope into a single meaningful save, but the head coach’s return to the top flight for the first time in 23 years. Steve Cooper was philosophical about losing.
Cooper, who started six of his summer signings and added two more from the bench, said: He flipped the ball over too much, didn’t pass enough when he could, and ended up conceding two goals.
“That’s what I think about what we lacked in performance. We have to live and learn from it.”
