Howe’s Hull City Shocker: Newcastle Boss Hails Unsung Giant in Stunning U-turn!

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe hailed the importance of goalkeeper Nick Pope after the England stopper made a crucial save to help the Premier League side ease to a 2-0 win at Hull City in Saturday’s friendly encounter at the MKM Stadium, labelling him a giant for the Toon.

Pope made a crucial save to deny Regan Slater a deserved equaliser from close range when he rebuffed the goalbound effort with a strong left arm by which point the Magpies were already a goal ahead courtesy of Alexander Isak’s well-taken finish just after the half-hour mark.

Moments later at the other end, the lively Jacob Murphy rolled in the second to effectively kill off the contest and give the visitors a commanding lead going into the break, and while Tim Walter’s side had moments in the second half, Pope was able to deny Abdus Omur and Ryan Longman, while Ryan Giles blazed wide, earning strong praise from Howe.

“I think it was a good game,” the Toon boss said. “I thought it was a tough game for us. We knew it was gonna be, I think, coming here, they’re slightly ahead of us physically, but they’re a very different team tactically to most that you see.

“It was ideal for where we are at the moment. Hull play slightly differently, it’s good to see something different. Full credit to their manager and their players for trying to implement that in a very short period of time so we had a couple of things to get to grips with and how they play out from the back.

“There’s a lot of interesting things from them and it took us probably 10 to 15 minutes to get to grips with it, even though we knew what to expect from them. I thought once we did, I thought the first half especially played very well and then the second half was difficult to judge. It was very, very bitty with all the changes.

“The front three for us all looked good. Alex (Isak), Harvey (Barnes) and Jacob (Murphy) all looked good. There were several good moments from them. The second goal was really good.

“Nick’s save at a time when it’s one nil and the game’s in the balance, that’s what he’s done for us since he’s been here. He’s been a giant in goal for us and it was a magnificent save.”