Bruce assesses Fraser debut; makes honest admission about Blackburn display

Steve Bruce Newcastle TEAMtalk

Newcastle boss Steve Bruce says he was impressed by new signing Ryan Fraser after the Scotsman scored the winner on his debut for the club. 

Having left Bournemouth in June, Fraser joined the Magpies on a five-year deal last week. He wasn’t in the squad as Newcastle beat West Ham 2-0 on Saturday, however he started the EFL Cup tie against Blackburn Rovers.

And it was his 35th minute goal that earned his new side a hard-fought 1-0 win. Having been played through by Miguel Almiron, the winger squeezed the ball under the on-rushing Thomas Kaminski to put Newcastle in front.

He managed 58 minutes before being replaced by Jacob Murphy, and Bruce admitted he was pleased with what he saw in Fraser’s first outing in Black and White.

Speaking in his post-match press conference (via Newcastle’s official Twitter) he said: “Considering he hasn’t played since March I thought Ryan’s effort, endeavour and enthusiasm was there for everybody to see. It was a great finish and a great run.”

Newcastle ‘got away with it’

Despite coming away with the win, Newcastle were dominated for much of the game by their Championship opponents.

Blackburn finished the games with a 64% share of the possession, while they also had three times the amount of shots at goal compared to the North East club.

 

And while Bruce was keen to stress that he used the game to give some players minutes ahead of a busy schedule, he also suggested his team were lucky to come out on top.

“We have another game on Sunday, we will have had six games in two and a half weeks,” he added.

“That game last night has made sure some of them have got football in their legs. We aren’t going to say anything other than we were fortunate.

“I was wary people needed games, but thankfully we got away with it.”