We asked Mark Jankowski to give us his match ratings and player comments after Newcastle United 2 Hull 1.
Hornicek 8
Made a few good stops when he had to and was a calming presence at the back.
He made one ill-advised Cruyff turn in his own box, which he was able to recover, but that’s the risk you will occasionally take with a ball playing keeper.
Miley 6
A six feels a little harsh after he played a solid 60 odd minutes at right back.
Unfortunately, after he moved into midfield he immediately made a mistake to allow Hull back into the game and set up a nervy finish.
Thiaw 7
Played pretty well and he didn’t get bullied by McBurnie.
Looked less comfortable at right back and made a few hurried clearances towards the end which put us under pressure.
Botman 8
Sven has come under a bit of stick so far this season but he was an assured presence at the back today.
He picked up the majority of the physical contests with McBurnie and won more than his fair share.
Hall 8
Man U must be gutted they let us sign Hall… oh hang on, he’s always been a Mag and will be for the foreseeable future.
He’s clearly England’s best left back and didn’t give Belloumi a sniff today.
Murphy 7
After a horror show at Leeds on Monday, Murphy put in easily his best performance of the season.
It’s not saying much but if he keeps things simple, Murphy can still contribute positively to the team.
Steur 8
Another player who would have wanted to forget Monday as quickly as possible.
Steur had his best game in a black and white shirt.
It helped we got the lead early in the game but he controlled things well and played sensible passes. We immediately lost control once he came off.
Willock 9
Scored our opener and was involved in almost everything good that we did.
Willock is a player that many (myself included) thought might be away this summer. Instead he has stayed at the club and across the first 5 games has looked almost back to his dynamic best of 2022/23.
I genuinely like Willock and I hope he can keep fit and maintain this level of performance. He deserves it.
Photo by The Mag
Barnes 8
I’ve been critical of Barnes’ attacking performances across the season so far.
Yes he’s bagged a few goals but overall he’s contributed very little.
Today felt like he had a much greater impact on the game. Hopefully he can continue to build his all-round game to match his goal scoring.
Wissa 7
He was very influential in the first half, getting himself on the ball in good pockets of space and driving at the opposition defence.
He seemed to go a bit missing at times in the second half but continued to graft and won a few key challenges as Newcastle retreated deeper towards the end.
We’ll not talk about his penalty miss, it looked to be in the corner but it wasn’t hit with enough power and was well saved.
Fernandez-Pardo 7
My god this boy can run.
He worked unbelievably hard for the team the entire time he was on the pitch.
We need to work out how to get him on the ball in more threatening positions but if he can keep up this level of effort then the rewards on the pitch won’t be far behind.
Subs
Schär 6
Brought on to try and help shore things up, unfortunately we conceded immediately after he came on.
Fab is still building up his sharpness but I’m sure he’ll have greater contributions as the season progresses.
Toure 6
Contributed some much needed energy once he came on.
He was unlucky not to be able to pick out Barnes or Wissa after stealing in ahead of the Hull keeper following a ball over the top.
Unfortunately, our balls out from the back as the game wore on didn’t give him enough to chase. Hopefully we’ll get to see more of him moving forward.
Bamba N/A
Not on long enough to judge.
Newcastle 2 Hull 1 – Saturday 19 September 2026 3pm
Match Stats
Goals:
Willock 3, Hall 7
Hull:
Cho 67
Possession was Newcastle 56% Hull 44%
Total shots were Newcastle 12 Hull 21
Shots on target were Newcastle 5 Hull 4
Corners were Newcastle 4 Hull 7
Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 15 Hull 35
Newcastle team v Hull:
Hornicek, Thiaw, Botman, Hall, Lewis Miley, Steur (Schar 66), Willock (Bamba 87), Murphy, Wissa, Barnes, Fernandez-Pardo (Toure 74)
Unused subs:
Pope, Mason Miley, Thompson, Salia, Pivas, Mills