Anthony Gordon ended his Premier League goal drought during Newcastle United’s draw with Tottenham on Tuesday.
Gordon came off the bench to score a late penalty in Newcastle United’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham at St James’ Park.
The England international has taken a barrage of criticism in recent months but, to his credit, he stepped up and slotted home nicely to put Eddie Howe’s side 2-1 up.
Great cameo from Anthony Gordon! Is the Magpies’ number 10 ‘back’?!
Indeed, it was not his fault that Newcastle failed to see the game out and ended up conceding a farcical late goal from Cristian Romero.
To definitively suggest that Gordon is back to his absolute best now would be unwise.
It was, however, at least a promising moment from a player who has struggled domestically for months now.
The manner of his penalty even left Shay Given surprised.
Shay Given surprised Anthony Gordon took Newcastle United’s penalty vs Tottenham
Nick Woltemade was still on the pitch when Newcastle’s controversial penalty against Tottenham was given.
Gordon is Newcastle’s main spot-kick taker but Woltemade’s brilliant penalty against Nottingham Forest will live long in the memory.
Speaking to Premier League Productions, Given admitted he was surprised to have seen Gordon step-up.
“I was surprised that Gordon took it,” he said. Not in a bad way, but Woltemade took the last one in the Premier League and they were sort of passing the ball back and forth.
“I just said, I just hope he doesn’t miss after that. But it’s a really confident penalty from Anthony Gordon.”
If you could say ONE thing to this Newcastle United squad right now, what would it be?
Be brutally honest here. Personally, I’d ask them why they’re generally so bad at reacting to setbacks
Anthony Gordon’s genuine improvement means Nick Woltemade will simply have to wait
Woltemade has asked to take penalties at Newcastle, which is perhaps natural of an international centre-forward.
The German is clearly very good at them, as was evident against Forest back in October.
| Penalties for Newcastle United | Anthony Gordon |
| Scored | 6 |
| Missed | 1 |
Still, Gordon has done little wrong. That’s the third penalty he has scored this season and the fourth he’s bagged since missing against Everton in October 2024.
Not much has come off for Gordon in recent months in a Premier League context but penalties are an area in which he’s shown genuine improvement.
Having two brilliant penalty takers in the team can only be a good thing for Howe.
There’s plenty of things to criticise Gordon about in recent months but his penalty record simply isn’t one of them.
Woltemade may just have to wait to get another chance.