Chris Kamara has heaped praise on Fabian Schar for his goal-line clearance in Newcastle United’s 0-0 draw with Brighton on Saturday.
The £40,000-a-week Swiss international [Spotrac] was able to save his side from defeat with a last-ditch acrobatic effort to keep out Aaron Connolly’s dinked effort, and Kamara was eager to sing his praises.
Speaking on Goals on Sunday (Sky Sports Premier League, Sunday September 22nd, 12.45), he said: “It was brilliant, it was absolutely brilliant.
“It’s won the team a point, and took three points away from Brighton – that’s how good it is.
“He is top, top drawer. Absolutely brilliant.”
How important is Schar for Newcastle?
It cannot be understated how important Schar is for this Magpies’ side.
The Swiss international has really grown into the side since joining in the summer of 2018, and he must surely be one of the first names on Steve Bruce’s team sheet these days.
So far this term he has averaged 2.7 tackles, 2.5 interceptions, and four clearances per game, as per Whoscored, and has been an absolute rock for the Toon Army in some tricky clashes.
Defensively, you can see how favourably he compares to Jamaal Lascelles, with an overall WhoScored rating of 7.16 to 6.98.
Stats can only tell you so much though, and when he makes an intervention like the one he did on Saturday, it is worth so much more than a tally on a chart.
As Kamara says, that clearance was the difference between a draw and a loss, and in a season that promises to be a proper slog from start to finish for the Magpies, who knows how important these fine margins could be come May time.
Schar had no right to get to the ball, let alone to shape his body in a manner that allowed him to hook it away from danger at such a frantic pace.
There will be the moments of equal importance, of course, and you wouldn’t bet against Schar having to pull out this kind of heroic intervention again at some point, but in a match as cagey and dour as this one, the defender’s moment of magic was as important as a goal for the Toon Army.
Here’s hoping they can keep him for a while to come.