WHEN Newcastle United last visited Southampton in 2016, Daryl Janmaat broke two of his fingers punching a dressing-room door as his side careered towards relegation. A year-and-a-half on, and Newcastle’s players were left kicking themselves in frustration again, but this time in markedly different circumstances.

Twice ahead through goals from Isaac Hayden and Ayoze Perez, the Magpies were twice pegged back via a brace from Manolo Gabbiadini. That the Southampton striker’s second came from the penalty spot only added to the sense of an opportunity missed.

Annoyance was the overriding emotion on the face of Newcastle’s players at full-time, but that just shows how far this group has come. Back in 2016, Jamaal Lascelles was forced to deliver some harsh half-time truths after his team-mates lacked desire, effort and commitment in what was a desperate display indicative of their struggles at the time.

This time around, Newcastle did so much that was right, only for a couple of uncharacteristically sloppy defensive errors to deprive them of two points. Javier Manquillo should have prevented Gabbiadini from firing off the shot that resulted in Southampton’s first goal, while Florian Lejeune’s clumsy challenge enabled the Italian to double his tally from the penalty spot with 15 minutes left.

Nevertheless, this was another impressive away performance, with Newcastle striking the perfect balance between defensive resilience and attacking adventure. They were typically well-organised, restricting Southampton to precious few chances other than their goals, and created more opportunities of their own than in their three previous away games put together.

Joselu hit the crossbar moments before the Saints scored their first equaliser, and Lejeune almost claimed a winner in the 89th minute, only for Steven Davis to hack his goalbound effort off the line. Rafael Benitez likes his team to be compact and hard to break down, but this was a day that proved he is also willing to release the shackles when the opportunity allows.

It was also an afternoon that proved Lascelles’ warnings from the relegation season have been heeded. In truth, Newcastle’s dressing room has been a completely different place ever since the post-relegation clear-out that saw so many of the guilty parties from that season leave.

That much was evident as the Magpies powered to promotion last season, and it has been apparent again this term as they have settled back into life in the Premier League. This might be a Newcastle side lacking the flair and finesse of some of its predecessors, but in so many other ways, it is light years ahead of most United teams from the last decade-or-so.

Much of that stems from Benitez, and his meticulous planning and remarkable eye for detail. The Spaniard places a great deal of stock in his work on the training ground during the week, so it was no real surprise to see Ciaran Clark and Mikel Merino left out of yesterday’s starting line-up after their international exertions meant they had been unable to work on their manager’s plans for nullifying Southampton. Lejeune and Hayden, who played instead of them, knew exactly what was expected of them.

The upshot was a performance in keeping with Newcastle’s previous away displays this season – disciplined, hard-working and industrious. Southampton dominated possession for the vast majority of the game, but most of their attacks broke down before there was a hint of the Magpies’ backline being seriously tested and, if anything, their opponents were markedly more threatening on the break.

Southampton’s first-half threat in particular was all-but-non-existent. Dusan Tadic had the home side’s only two chances before the break, but the first came to nothing when he failed to find the target with a header from Nathan Redmond’s cross and the second was thwarted when Hayden flung himself in front of a shot. It was a superb covering challenge, exemplifying the Newcastle midfielder’s selfless work rate. It also came a quarter-of-an-hour after the same player had fired the visitors into the lead.

Hayden had only scored two goals in his previous 46 outings in a Newcastle shirt, but there was much to admire in the strike that opened his personal Premier League account. Matt Ritchie’s deflected cross fell to Christian Atsu, but his shot was blocked in the area, with the rebound ricocheting towards Hayden. There were a host of bodies in front of the former Arsenal trainee, but he drilled in a low curled effort that completely wrong-footed an unsighted Fraser Forster. Desperately throwing out his right foot, the Hexham-born goalkeeper was unable to get anywhere near the ball.

For all that they were starved of possession for long spells, Newcastle were a constant threat on the break with Atsu tearing down the left-hand side and Perez running himself ragged alongside Joselu in attack.

The two forwards combined within two minutes of the interval, and only the woodwork prevented Southampton from falling further behind. Perez delivered a dangerous cross from the right, but while Joselu stole ahead of Virgil van Dijk to stick out a foot, his looped effort rebounded off the top of the crossbar.

The incident was part of a manic spell at the start of the second half that saw the home side equalise in the 51st minute. Redmond’s long ball picked out Gabbiadini in the area, but having got himself into position behind the Italian, Manquillo should really have shepherded his opponent out of the area. Instead, he allowed him to run across the face of goal before drilling a fine low finish into the bottom right-hand corner.

It was a goal pretty much out of nothing, but Newcastle did not allow it to unsettle them. In the space of just 86 seconds, the visitors successfully reclaimed the lead.

Ritchie’s through ball released Perez into the area, but the Spaniard’s initial shot was parried by Forster. It was a nervous save though, and Perez swooped on to the rebound to lash home at the second attempt from an acute angle. Forster, once touted as the future of the England team, should have done much better with both Newcastle goals.

The Magpies had a let-off moments after their second strike, with DeAndre Yedlin only receiving a stern talking-to from referee Kevin Friend. Having received a yellow card in the first half, the full-back could easily have seen red in the second.

However, while Newcastle finished with a full complement of players, they were unable to hold on to all three points. Shane Long’s one-two with Sofiane Boufal sent the Irishman scampering towards the byline, but Lejeune should simply have marshalled him away from goal.

Instead, he hurtled into a wholly unnecessary challenge, conceding a penalty and enabling Gabbiadini to slam home his second goal of the game from the spot.