Steve Bruce insists Martin Dubravka will have to earn his place as Newcastle United No.1 after the sparkling form of Karl Darlow thus far in his absence.
The former Nottingham Forest shot-stopper has been between the sticks for the Magpies since the start of the season and was a deserved man-of-the match during a 0-0 draw with Liverpool.
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Darlow denied the electric front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino time and time again at a bitterly cold St James’ Park to earn a point in the final Premier League game of 2020.
As well as officially denying the Reds the chance to achieve 100 points this season, the 30-year-old has further boosted his chances of retaining his first team spot, despite the return of Dubravka to the bench.
Speaking to Amazon Prime Sport, a delighted Bruce admitted that although the Slovakia international has returned after cracking a bone in his ankle, Darlow will remain first choice after his impressive displays.
Magpies boss Steve Bruce said: “We rode our luck at times, my goalkeeper’s made a few saves which you have to playing one of the best teams in Europe, but I couldn’t fault them to a man. We stuck at it and got our reward.
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“We did cause them a few problems. We needed to improve on the ball especially late on in the game but that’s probably the tiredness setting in, it was a hell of a shift both tonight and against Manchester City.
“Karl has had to wait for his chance and we needed our goalkeeper to step up and at the moment the jersey is his. During the season we’ve had to call on him a little bit too much but he’s been terrific all season.”
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