Newcastle United star issues social media apology for 'blackout' during crazy win against Leeds United
Newcastle United completed a comeback for the ages at St James' Park last night, thrice coming from behind to ultimately beat Leeds United 4-3 in one of the games of the season.
For a neutral, it was a game that had everything. For a fan of either side, it was 114 minutes of torture culminating in elation or despair, depending on what side of the fence you find yourself on.
Harvey Barnes kept up his fine tradition of scoring against Leeds United, bagging a brace on the night, bookending Newcastle's four goals.
Joelinton had another fantastic game and got on the scoresheet as his reward, while Bruno Guimaraes made it three goals in as many games from the penalty spot.
Malick Thiaw had a terrible 45 minutes for Newcastle last night
However, it wasn't all good news and high praise as one man, usually known for being an absolute stalwart, had a stinker in the first half.
Malick Thiaw was at fault for both of Leeds United's goals in the first half, slipping over on nothing to allow Brenden Aaronson to open the scoring on the half-hour mark, and then on the stroke of half-time, Thiaw was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area, and the penalty was awarded.
It felt like an extremely soft penalty at the time, but my stance has softened the more I've seen it, especially given the award at the other end in the second half.
Malick Thiaw apologised for his 'blackout'
Had those been two isolated incidents, then Thiaw might have been given a reprieve, but he'd been terrible all game up to the halftime whistle, never seeming to get a foot in the game at all. Eddie Howe made the right call to hook him at half time with Sven Botman brought on for the second half.
After the game, Thiaw took to Instagram to celebrate the win and issue an apology to the Newcastle fans for his part in the game. The post has since expired, but we saw you, Malick, and we know you'll put things right.
“Incredible mentality from the team. THANK YOU +3. Well that was a total blackout from my side, sorry for that.”
