Nick Pope slammed for ‘dreadful’ blunder before James Maddison’s moment of magic opens the scoring for Tottenham in their post-season clash against Newcastle

Nick Pope has been slammed for an error which led to James Maddison’s magical opener in Newcastle’s friendly against Tottenham on Wednesday. 

The Premier League sides made the controversial trip to Australia mere hours after their final league matches of the campaign.

Both Ange Postecoglou and Eddie Howe selected strong line-ups for the match hosted at the 100,000 capacity Melbourne Cricket stadium and it was two stars players that were involved in the opening goal of the game. 

Magpies goalkeeper Pope, who has only recently returned from injury, attempted to play a ball out from defence but his pass intercepted by Maddison. The former Leicester star then evaded one challenge before lashing his strike into the roof of the net. 

While the midfielder received praise for his finish, supporters were keen to lambast Pope for the blunder which presented him with a chance to pounce. 

The Magpies stopper’s poor pass was intercepted by James Maddison leading to the opening goal of the game

Fans slammed Nick Pope for his part in the opening goal at the Melbourne Cricket Stadium

‘Glad to see Nick Pope still can’t kick a football,’ One Newcastle fan sarcastically wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 

‘Nick Pope bro wtf you doing,’ wrote another. A third said: ‘Nick Pope obviously didn’t get any kip on the flight over to oz, what the f*** was that.’

Maddison appeared to benefit from the use of his hand in the build up to the goal, following a heavy first touch. 

Despite Newcastle protestations, the referee’s whistle was not forthcoming. 

‘Clear handball from Maddison,’ wrote Chronicle Live’s chief Newcastle writer Lee Ryder, to which another fan replied: ‘Nick pope’s ball was dreadful btw.’

Pope was making his first start for the first team since he sustained a shoulder injury in the Magpies December win over Manchester United. 

Though he returned to the squad in April, Howe continued to select Martin Dubravka, who had deputised in his absence. 

The injury also ended his hopes of making the England squad for the European Championships, with Southgate confirming on Tuesday that the 32-year-old would not be part of his Germany roster. 

Dean Henderson, Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale and James Trafford were the four stoppers chosen to be a part of the Three Lions boss’ provisional squad. 

In Melbourne, Alexander Isak got Newcastle on level terms in the final minute of the first half. 

The England international produced a moment of magic to give Tottenham the lead after 32 minutes

Maddison’s use of his hand in the build up to the goal was noted but ultimately not given by officials

Ahead of the clash, Magpies legend Alan Shearer had described the Down Under meeting as pure ‘madness’ while Southgate had also criticised the game.

The fixtures comes only 23 days before the start of the European Championships while the Copa America kicks off six days later, with some players on the tour expected to feature in either of the tournaments.