Newcastle's Bruno Guimarães Compounds Postecoglou's Deepening Troubles at Nottingham Forest

Ange Postecoglou walked for the tunnel with a puzzled expression, his eyes downcast. Following seven games in charge with zero wins, his prospects seemed as unclear as thick mist over the river.

Although the home side were far from their dominant form, late goals from the Brazilian midfielder and the German striker—Woltemade's a spot-kick—ultimately secured them a restorative another top-flight victory this campaign.

At kick-off, the manager's insulated jacket wrapped him similar to a duvet, but his restless body language indicated it provided no solace.

No jacket could protect Postecoglou from the fear that his victory-less beginning at Forest—taking over as the only coach in 100 years to go winless in his first half-dozen fixtures—would continue before a possible dismissal over the upcoming pause.

And yet, his side did not do too badly during a defensively stingy first half.

Although Elliot Anderson at times upstaged even Sandro Tonali in midfield, reminding everyone why Eddie Howe was so reluctant to sell the academy product, the defender marked the striker out of the game, and the winger caused the full-back difficulties on the flank.

In fairness to Woltemade, who received little service to his feet or head, his side's attacking play lacked fluidity.

True, it took a fine stop from Matt Sels—a former Newcastle goalkeeper—to keep out the Brazilian's header, and the midfielder failed to convert a few opportunities, but generally, the visitors' defense was much improved.

Considering it is only a few weeks since the Australian replaced Nuno Espírito Santo and matches have come thick and fast, leaving precious little time to implement his ideas on the practice field, all the talk of an impending dismissal seemed somewhat premature.

Or at least it did until the midfielder curled a right-foot shot past the keeper and into the top corner from the edge of the box.

That saw the manager shaking his head in clear frustration, wearing the anguished look of a man who had just lost his house keys.

His players protested about a possible infraction on Morgan Gibbs-White by the scorer in the buildup, but their appeals were ignored by the referee.

With the Italian now ascendant in midfield, the youngster was not the sole away player struggling to make an impact.

By now, the coach had thrown off his anorak and rolled up the arms of his sweater. With Forest seldom looking capable of finding the net and the hosts looking to shred their previously much-enhanced backline, he was obviously under pressure.

It took another excellent stop from Sels to keep out Tonali's volleyed attempt, before the resultant corner prefaced Woltemade's half-volley hitting the bottom of the crossbar.

Sels then made an superb two quick stops from the defender and the winger before finally being beaten again from the penalty spot by the German.

The penalty was given when Anderson's mistimed challenge sent the Brazilian tumbling down.

Up stepped, the Germany striker to confound the goalie by chipping a rather audacious penalty into the upper left side.

That marked his 4th goal for Newcastle since his £70m transfer from the German side in the summer, contradicting comments from officials at Bayern Munich that Newcastle were “foolish” to pay so much for the centre-forward.

It wasn't Woltemade's finest performance in Newcastle colors, but his skill to retain possession and use his adhesive control to link play is already making him a fan favorite on in Newcastle.

Lisa Pacheco
Lisa Pacheco

A certified accountant with over 10 years of experience in financial consulting and digital finance trends.