Steve Bruce opted to play a strong Newcastle United lineup against Rochdale in the FA Cup, with the hope of progressing to the next round.

One of the notable men included in the team was Joelinton, as the Brazilian striker lined up alongside Yoshinori Muto.

While the expectation was probably that Joelinton could help the Magpies progress, Bruce was also likely hoping that his striker’s confidence could get a boost against League One opposition.

That comes with the striker having managed just one goal from 20 starts and a substitute appearance in the Premier League this season.

However, neither of those eventualities were to come to fruition - if anything, it was the complete opposite.

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The 23-year-old had a total of six shots throughout the match, with none of those hitting the back of the net on the way to a frustrating 1-1 draw.

It is not just the volume of efforts that is troubling though, as the nature of his misses will be concerning with just one of those six strikes going on target.

Even the one that did force Robert Sanchez into a save was a tame attempt, allowing the goalkeeper to get his left hand down to keep it out.

Outside of that, there was a specific scenario that summarised his lack of clinical edge, as he ran through and got himself into a brilliant position, but once he had got inside the box the Brazilian rolled the ball harmlessly wide.

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With the aforementioned point about confidence, the lack of it showed towards the end of the game, following Aaron Wilbraham’s equaliser, with all of the previous mishaps likely having taken their toll on him.

Federico Fernandez had won the header well from Matt Ritchie’s delivery to the back post, dropping the ball just outside the six-yard box. It was the sort of delectable opportunity that in-form strikers would have been onto in a flash and sent crashing into the back of the net.

However, Joelinton is not an in-form striker and instead of doing that, he stuttered, watched the ball go past him, then stood with his arms out in disbelief.

It is this moment, as well as the big miss earlier in the game, that indicates just how big a problem Joelinton is enduring.

If anything, the game against Rochdale only made his problems clearer.

In other news, FFC has suggested that Newcastle should trust Bruce's judgement of 23-year-old striker.