Newcastle United have progressed to the Europa League Round of 32 from Group D with a 1-1 home draw with Maritimo.

Alan Pardew's side went ahead at St James' Park through Sylvain Marveaux midway through the first half.

Philipe Fidelis equalised for the Portuguese side in the 79th minute, but results elsewhere meant that the draw was enough for Newcastle to go through.

Here Sports Mole takes a closer look to see if the result was fair.

Match statistics:

Newcastle:
Shots 6
On target 5
Possession 55%
Corners 4
Fouls 9

Maritimo:
Shots 13
On target 5
Possession 45%
Corners 4
Fouls 15

Was the result fair?

Yes. Neither side deserved to lose this match and neither did enough to win it. Newcastle United played well after scoring their goal, but they failed to maintain that intensity in the second half. Maritimo were brave to come out at the hosts in the latter stages of the encounter and could have even won it in injury time.

Newcastle's performance

Pardew's side were largely quiet in the opening 20 minutes, but after they scored their goal midway through the first half they looked very comfortable and confident. However, Newcastle started to lose their intensity in the second half even though Davide Santon was a force going forward down the left flank.

Maritimo's performance

Maritimo were brave and confident in the second half and could have even won the match late in injury time. The Portuguese side failed to hold on to the intensity they exhibited in the opening minutes of the match, but their performance in the latter stages of the second half was very encouraging.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Philipe Fidelis: Even though the 23-year-old came on just before the hour mark, he proved to be the most influential player on the pitch. Fidelis scored a brilliant goal in the 79th minute and came close to winning the game for Maritimo in the final minute of injury time.

Referee's performance

Danny Makkelie was very professional in his approach and made all the right calls. He was not involved in any controversial decisions and had a very good game overall.

What next?

Newcastle: Next up for the Magpies is a Premier League encounter against Southampton away from home on Sunday.

Maritimo: Maritimo are away at Pacos de Ferreira in the Portuguese league on Tuesday.

Written by
Subhankar Mondal