Sheffield United 2 Newcastle United 2: Double Dutch as Magpies are pegged back in pre-season draw

IT was a case of ‘Double Dutch’ for Newcastle United this afternoon, but goals from Georginio Wijnaldum and Siem de Jong were insufficient to secure a pre-season victory at Sheffield United.

The Magpies twice led at Bramall Lane, with Dutch duo Wijnaldum and de Jong finding the target, but they were pegged back on each occasion as Chris Morgan’s testimonial game ended in a 2-2 draw.

Wijnaldum opened the scoring with his first Magpies goal on English soil, and while the Blades levelled at the start of the second half through Marc McNulty, Newcastle looked to have claimed their third pre-season win when de Jong stabbed home from a corner with 11 minutes left.

However, Sheffield United claimed a deserved draw when Kieron Freeman slammed home a fantastic long-range effort in the closing stages.

There was no place in the Newcastle starting line-up for summer signing Aleksandar Mitrovic, who completed a £12m move from Anderlecht at the start of last week, or skipper Fabricio Coloccini, who is the subject of mounting interest from Crystal Palace.

Wijnaldum made his first Magpies appearance on English soil in the wake of his £14.5m switch from PSV Eindhoven, and the Dutchman almost had an immediate impact as he set up Papiss Cisse for a second-minute effort that made the woodwork rattle.

Wijnaldum teed up Cisse on the edge of the area, and the Senegalese striker bent an excellent effort against the outside of the left-hand post.

Wijnaldum, who was a lively presence in the pivotal ‘number ten’ role, went close himself six minutes later, curling a 20-yard strike just past the post after Ayoze Perez doggedly won possession on the left-hand side.

Newcastle’s bright start appeared to catch Sheffield United cold, but the Blades regrouped successfully and carved out a couple of decent chances of their own before the interval.

Martyn Woolford side-footed over from inside the area after the visitors’ defence failed to deal with a cross from Callum McFadzean, and Che Adams should have scored when he blazed over from eight yards midway through the first half. Again, some ponderous Newcastle defending was a factor, with the Magpies backline failing to cut out Jamie Murphy’s square ball across the box.

The Blades went close again shortly before the break, but while Adams’ deflected strike appeared to have wrong-footed Tim Krul, the Newcastle goalkeeper responded superbly to claw the ball away with an excellent one-handed save.

Five minutes later, and the Magpies took full advantage to claim the lead at the other end. Cisse latched on to an errant back-pass and raced into the area, and while he was thwarted by a smothering block from goalkeeper George Long, the ball broke kindly for Wijnaldum to slot home.

The goal was Wijnaldum’s second in a Newcastle shirt, following hot on the heels of the strike that broke the deadlock in the 4-3 defeat to Portland Timbers that rounded off the US tour.

The Magpies’ lead lasted just four minutes into the second half, however, as some wretched defending proved costly once again.

Adams’ through ball caught the Newcastle defence completely flat, and after advancing unopposed into the area, McNulty drilled a crisp low strike through Krul’s legs.

The visitors allowed their levels to drop significantly for the majority of the second half, and Sheffield United almost claimed the lead when substitute Matt Done raced into the left-hand side of the area shortly after the hour mark.

His chipped strike evaded the advancing Krul, but a back-tracking Steven Taylor did well to head the ball clear.

Newcastle spent most of the second period in first gear, but they sparked into life to reclaim the lead with 11 minutes remaining.

The goal came from a well-worked set-piece routine, with Cisse flicking on Jack Colback’s corner at the front post and de Jong ghosting in unmarked to turn the ball home from inside the six-yard box.

However, the Magpies were denied victory by a wonderful opportunist strike from full-back Freeman with four minutes remaining.

The Blades defender latched on to a loose ball more than 25 yards from goal, and cracked home a ferocious volley that found the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

Sheff Utd (4-4-2): Long; Freeman, Collins (Morgan 87), McEveley (K Wallace 85), McFadzean; Woolford (Campbell-Ryce 46), Basham (J Wallace 75), Baxter (Reed 69), Murphy (Scougall 58); McNulty (Done 60), Adams ((Sammon 60).

Subs (not used): Willis (gk), Di Girolamo, Calvert-Lewin.

Newcastle (4-2-3-1): Krul; Janmaat, Taylor (Lascelles 69), Williamson, Haidara; Anita (Obertan 59), Colback (Gouffran 87); Sissoko (Abeid 80), Wijnaldum (de Jong 73), Perez (Aarons 46); Cisse (Armstrong 80).

Subs (not used): Darlow (gk), Satka.