Newcastle 1 Aston Villa 1 - Report and pictures

The harsh reality is it was another baby step at a time when big stride was really needed.

Ahmed Elmohamady’s equaliser, after Dwight Gayle had scored his first Newcastle goal for more than two years with his first touch off the bench, means Villa are now only in the bottom three on goal difference.

Yet the road is about to get a lot tougher with back-to-back matches against Wolves, Liverpool and Manchester United.

The manner in which they conceded here, meanwhile, provided evidence Smith has not been able to fix the defensive issues which have blighted his team all season.

Gayle, who had replaced Matt Ritchie just seconds earlier, was left in acres of space to collect Andy Carroll’s low cross before advancing to score his first goal at any level since he netted for Albion against Villa in last season’s play-off semi-final.

The striker, who was sent-off later in that match and missed the second leg of the tie, looked set to get a modicum of personal revenge.

But Villa rallied and Smith’s changes, though delayed, worked. Conor Hourihane delivered a corner which Elmohamady glanced beyond Martin Dubravka to draw Villa level and Smith’s men finished the match on top.

A winner, however, proved elusive and the reaction of the visiting players at the final whistle suggested they knew a chance to jump out of the drop zone had been missed.

Smith in particular will rue the chances missed by Trezeguet and Mbwana Samatta in an opening half-hour his team bossed.

Both were brought in to the line-up in place of Hourihane and Keinan Davis as the Villa boss made his first changes since restart.

Trezeguet was making his first start since January and should have marked the occasion with a goal inside the opening 10 minutes.

Ezri Konsa advanced down the right and swung in a cross which fell perfectly for the Egyptian winger, arriving at the far post. But from eight yards out he hit his first time finish into the ground and could only watch as the ball bounced up and over the bar.

The right flank was proving a productive area for the visitors and it was from there another big chance arrived. This time it was Anwar El Ghazi delivering the cross which Samatta was unable to direct on target.

The presence of Newcastle skipper most likely disrupted the striker’s view of the cross but a player who takes pride in his heading ability should at least have made Dubravka work and his pained reaction suggested he knew as much.

A failure to seriously test the home keeper was the biggest frustration of a half in which Villa were largely the better team.

John McGinn also sent a header wide from a Jack Grealish cross, while Matt Targett dragged a 25-yard shot off target.

Having posed all the questions in the opening half-hour, Villa ended the period scrappily and were unlucky to escape punishment following a mistake by Kortney Hause.

The centre-back needlessly tried to take on Jonjo Shelvey on the left wing and was dispossessed, setting up a Newcastle counter which ended with Tyrone Mings making a crucial block on Joelinton’s goalbound shot.

Ritchie then stung the palms of Orjan Nyland from just outside the box as Newcastle, laboured in the early stages, showed signs of finding their stride.

It was Ritchie who would have the first shot of the second half, bringing Nyland into a low save down to his right after cutting in from the left flank.

Villa’s best chances continued to come from headers. This time it was Trezeguet redirecting an El Ghazi centre back across goal but wide of the far post.

It was Newcastle, however, who were starting to ask most of the questions. Moments after Javier Manquillo fizzed in a cross which was just out of Joelinton’s reach, Miguel Almiron saw an effort deflected wide after opting to take a touch when he might have shot first time.

With Villa passes going astray, Saint-Maximin then gave a display of his power and pace when he burst past Mings and sent a shot flying into the empty Gallowgate End.

The warnings were not heeded. Just seconds after coming on, Gayle had Newcastle ahead, collecting a low cross from Carroll in acres of space before advancing into the box and sending a finish beyond Nyland, with Konsa unable to close down in time.

Smith immediately sent on Davis and Hourihane and the latter delivered a free-kick from which Konsa, arriving at the far post, should have levelled.

Hause then glanced a header agonisingly wide of the post, with Hourihane again providing the cross.

It ended up being a case of third time lucky. With seven minutes remaining Hourihane delivered a corner from the left and Elmohamady’s glancing header squeezed under the body of Dubravka.

Villa pushed hard for a winner but it would not come, Hause seeing a header from a stoppage time corner deflected just wide.

Teams

Newcastle (4-4-1-1): Dubravka, Manquillo, Lascelles, Fernandez, Rose, Ritchie (Gayle 67), Hayden, Shelvey, Saint-Maximin, Almiron, Joelinton (Carroll 64) Subs not used: Schar, Muto, Krafth, Yedlin, Lazaro, Bentaleb, Darlow (gk).

Villa (4-2-3-1): Nyland, Konsa (Elmohamady 77), Hause, Mings, Targett, Luiz, McGinn (Nakamba 77), El Ghazi (Hourihane 69), Grealish, Trezeguet (Davis 69), Samatta Subs not used: Taylor, Jota, Davis, Vassilev, Baston, Reina (gk).