Journalists say Wood ‘struggled’ in 1-0 defeat

Newcastle United suffered a second consecutive Premier League defeat without scoring on Thursday evening, losing 1-0 to Everton at Goodison Park. The Magpies have now gone 218 minutes without finding the back of the net and Chris Wood was partly at fault in midweek.

The 30-year-old, who has scored just one goal in his first 10 appearances for Newcastle, was guilty of spurning two good opportunities and was kept quiet by Everton’s Michael Keane. Jordan Cronin of Newcastle World gave Wood a player rating of 5/10 and noted how he ‘struggled’ to make an impact.

Gareth Cox of The National News gave the New Zealand international a player rating of 5/10 and said he offered ‘little else’ after missing two chances in the game. Lee Ryder of Chronicle Live gave him a player rating of 6/10, saying ‘chances came and went’. Tom Gott of 90min gave Wood a player rating of 4/10 and said he had a ‘lack of quality’.

Against Everton, the 30-year-old played for 90 minutes, had 28 touches, won 11 aerial duels, completed 70.6% of his 17 passes, created one chance, had two shots with 50% hitting the target and won one free-kick.

Newcastle have a two-week break before their trip to face Tottenham Hotspur, so that might give Eddie Howe time to work with Wood. The 30-year-old has had 17 shots for Newcastle, 11 of which were with his head. He’s found the target just five times and scored only once, so he needs to improve.

In other news, journalists say Miguel Almiron ‘didn’t take chance’ in Newcastle’s 1-0 defeat to Everton