Newcastle United star Joelinton has praised the character his side showed to beat Southampton 1-0 at home in the first Premier League game of their season.
Fabian Schar’s 28th-minute sending-off at St. James’ Park today made it a difficult afternoon for Newcastle but they managed to etch out a win thanks to a Joelinton goal at the stroke of half-time.
Newly promoted Southampton dominated the game with 78 per cent possession and 19 attempts with five on target, but Newcastle needed just one shot on target to get the three points.
Joelinton stressed that the Saints showed their quality on the opening weekend but is pleased with the character the home side showed to get the win over the line eventually.
He insisted that it is still just the start of the season and the team need to be more ready as they move forward as the club have big ambitions for the campaign.
Joelinton was quoted as saying by the BBC: “Southampton are a very good team. They made it difficult for us but I think we did well in the end.
“The team showed great character to defend and it’s great to start the season with a clean sheet.
“We need to take things game by game. This is just the start.
“We have big goals this season but we have to make sure we’re ready for when the games come along.”
Newcastle will take a trip to Dean Court next weekend to take on Eddie Howe’s former team Bournemouth.
