NEWCASTLE, England (Reuters) -Joelinton's goal earned Newcastle a 1-0 win over promoted Southampton in their first game of the Premier League season at St James' Park on Saturday, despite going down to 10 men in the first half.
Fabian Schar was sent off in the 28th minute for retaliating after a foul by Ben Brereton Diaz but the visitors failed to make the most of their numerical advantage, and Newcastle took the lead just before the break.
Southampton keeper Alex McCarthy's poor attempted pass to Jack Stephens was pounced on by Alexander Isak who played the ball across the box and Brazilian Joelinton took one touch before drilling his shot low into the corner of the net.
"Southampton are a very good team. They made it difficult for us but I think we did well in the end," Joelinton said.
"The team showed great character to defend and it’s great to start the season with a clean sheet."
Southampton had the better of the second half as they piled on pressure in search of an equaliser, but Newcastle held on to take all three points.
After Newcastle dominated the early stages, the visitors grew in confidence and had the ball in the net in the 10th minute but Jack Stephens was offside when he tapped in from close range.
Southampton were boosted by Schar's moment of madness after Brereton Diaz bundled him over from behind. The Swiss defender put his head against that of his opponent who went down rather theatrically and the referee pulled out the red card.
It was Newcastle, however, who went in at the break a goal up after they took full advantage of McCarthy's mistake when trying to play it out from the back.
"We had 60 minutes playing against 10 men. We had enough chances to win the game, let alone draw it, but I’m so proud of the team," Southampton manager Russell Martin told the BBC.
"We made one mistake and we paid the price. Maybe it's that little bit of belief (that's missing) but I'm really proud of the team today."
Five minutes after the interval Southampton's Adam Armstrong had a close-range effort cleared off the line by Newcastle defender Lewis Hall, and the home side's keeper Nick Pope needed to be at his best to tip over another Armstrong shot.
"We should have scored three goals today. We brought on every attacking player we had," Martin said.
"I don't think we learned anything new about our players today, apart from the fact they’re new to this league."
Southampton never gave up and had two late headed chances from Carlos Alcaraz and Cameron Archer saved by Pope, but Eddie Howe's side rode out the pressure and recorded a home win on the opening day for the third successive season.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Ed Osmond)
