Newcastle 0 Wolves 2

NEWCASTLE came crashing back down to earth as their six-game winning run was emphatically halted by Wolves.

Four days on from their record-equalling six-goal romp at QPR, the Magpies turned in a wretched display as they were deservedly beaten 2-0 by a side that conceded four goals on home turf last Tuesday.

Newcastle were second best throughout, with Chancel Mbemba’s own goal and a second-half strike from Helder Costa condemning them to their third league defeat of the season.

Their misery was complete when Vurnon Anita was dismissed for a reckless challenge on Ivan Cavaleiro with three minutes left, and the afternoon represented a stark reality check after the euphoria of events at Loftus Road.

With Huddersfield winning, Newcastle, who face Wolves again on Tuesday in the EFL Cup, find themselves four points off the top of the table.

Tuesday’s six-goal spectacular might have equalled the Magpies’ best-ever away performance in the league, but it was never likely to result in an unchanged starting line-up, with Rafael Benitez an avowed advocate of squad rotation.

Sure enough, there were three changes from the side that played at Loftus Road, with a fit-again Mbemba returning to the back four and Mo Diame and Dwight Gayle taking their places at the other end of the field.

Benitez will have been hoping that the alterations did not affect his side’s rhythm, but the opposite proved the case. If Newcastle had been exceptional at Loftus Road, then they were exceptionally poor for much of this afternoon’s game.

With Wolves’ midfielders harrying them at every opportunity, Newcastle’s players struggled from the off. Jonjo Shelvey’s passing radar was awry, while Diame looked completely lost as he attempted to fill the ‘number ten’ role behind Gayle.

Wolves went close to an early opener when Romain Saiss headed over from a corner in the seventh minute, and the home side’s goal led even more of a charmed life two minutes later.

Matz Sels saved from Costa after Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s initial shot had been blocked, but when the ball was returned to Bodvarsson in the penalty area, Wolves’ Icelandic striker drilled in a rising drive that clipped the top of the crossbar.

Newcastle hadn’t created anything at that stage, but they finally tested Karl Ikeme midway through the first half. Ayoze Perez met Matt Ritchie’s right-wing cross with a crisp first-time effort, but Ikeme got down well to turn the ball away.

Ritchie narrowly failed to reach a dangerous cross from Gayle moments later, but Newcastle continued to concede possession with an alarming regularity, and Wolves deservedly claimed the lead shortly before the half-hour mark.

There appeared to be little danger when Bodvarsson delivered a cross from the right-hand side, but despite not being particularly under pressure, arrowed a diving header past a helpless Sels from just outside the six-yard box.

Things would have been worse had Sels not kept out Saiss’ long-range free-kick on the stroke of half-time, but Newcastle displayed few signs of improvement after the interval and deservedly slipped two goals behind shortly after the hour mark.

Perez was brushed off the ball without really putting up a fight in his own half, and Costa was left unchallenged as he strolled towards the edge of the penalty area and stroked a deft 20-yard finish into bottom left-hand corner.

Benitez responded immediately, bringing on Aleskandar Mitrovic and Christian Atsu, but the former wasted his side’s best chance of the game with 13 minutes as he shot straight at Ikeme’s legs after a mix-up in the Wolves defence had afforded him a clear run on goal.

The miss effectively confirmed Newcastle’s defeat, but there was still time for things to get worse. Anita leapt into an unnecessary challenge on Cavaleiro in the closing stages, with referee Tim Robinson brandishing a straight red card.

Newcastle  (4-2-3-1): Sels; Anita, Lascelles, Mbemba, Dummett; Hayden (Mitrovic 63), Shelvey; Ritchie (Atsu 63), Diame, Perez; Gayle.

Subs not used: Darlow, Clark, Colback, Gouffran, Yedlin.

Wolves (4-3-3): Ikeme, Doherty, Iorfa, Batth, Borthwick-Jackson, Oniangue, Edwards, Saiss, Costa (Mason 74), Bodvarsson, Teixeira (Cavaleiro 71).

Subs not used: Longergan, Saville, Coady, Gladon, Hause.