Newcastle United scored a late winner in the 1-0 win against Fulham and Eddie Howe’s side showed they can dig in and win games at the death as Alexander Isak did
Newcastle United supporters used to serenade a striker by the name of Aleksandar. Not anymore. A new Alexander is in town now.
On an afternoon where Aleksandar Mitrovic had a penalty disallowed against his former side, after accidentally kicking the ball into his standing foot, Alexander Isak stepped up with a dramatic late winner to send Newcastle back up to third following a 1-0 victory against Fulham at St James’ Park.
Isak may have cost £60m but this was a priceless goal when it looked like Newcastle was heading for another frustrating goalless draw at home. After all, with 87 minutes on the clock, Newcastle had 63% possession, 19 shots, and 10 corners but, crucially, the Magpies had nothing to show for it – less than two weeks after Leeds had frustrated Howe’s team in a 0-0 stalemate at St James’.
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Yet Newcastle did not give up and, this time, Howe had the firepower to get his side over the line. Rather than replace Callum Wilson with Isak, Howe decided to throw on his record signing to play alongside the Newcastle number nine for the first time. That bold move eventually paid off.
There were 89 minutes on the clock when Sean Longstaff’s first-time cross picked out Wilson at the back post and the Newcastle striker cleverly hooked the ball across the box at the second attempt to Isak, who headed the hosts in the front right in front of the Gallowgate End. Cue bedlam on the touchline and the terraces.
This was the kind of moment Isak dreamed of when he was in the treatment room. Now, in his first Premier League appearance since suffering a thigh injury in September, the Sweden international had secured a precious three points for his side.
Newcastle has played even better than they did on Sunday, but Fabian Schar had spoken ahead of this game of how ‘sometimes we have to be ugly…we don’t have to play great football over 90 minutes to win a game’. Having scored their first late winner this season, Newcastle now has the ability to dig out victories, which could prove crucial when it comes to going the distance in the race for Europe.
“There are loads of different ways to win and the ideal is that you play unbelievable football in total control and you win comfortably but, in the Premier League, that very rarely happens,” Howe told reporters after the match. “On those days, you make the most of those occasions but, normally, they are very tight games.
“They get decided by moments, big moments. Thankfully, we were on the right side today and we have to try and do everything we can to remain on the right side of those marginal big moments in games.”
The only downside of the win for Howe was that Bruno Guimaraes left the stadium on crutches after coming off at half-time in tears with an ankle injury. Although Bruno is ‘hopeful’ the injury is not serious, the club’s watching owners, Amanda Staveley, and Mehrdad Ghodoussi saw first-hand how light the Magpies now are in the middle of the park with Jonjo Shelvey also sidelined. This will be a position that will have to be addressed at some point in 2023, whether it is in the next two weeks or the summer.
Still, at the halfway point of the campaign, Newcastle is now five points clear of fifth-placed Spurs. In contrast, at the same stage of last season, Howe’s team was languishing in 19th place – a whopping 18 points off Antonio Conte’s side in fifth. This team has come a long way since then – even keeping five successive top-flight clean sheets for the first time in the club’s history – and that transformation will have Spurs worried.
You can see why this felt like a big week. Reaching a first League Cup semi-final in 47 years was one thing, but the mark of a true contender is to follow up a result like that just a few days later in the Premier League like Newcastle did on Sunday. Particularly when it is a tough test against a team like Fulham.
Newcastle, after all, were facing a fearless side who were flying, themselves, in sixth place, after not previously losing a game in two months. Fulham was buoyant after defeating bitter rivals Chelsea on Thursday night – to win four top-flight games in a row for the first time since 1966 – and the visitors were further boosted by the return of talisman Mitrovic, who, of course, needed no added motivation against his former club.
While starting Mitrovic was a no-brainer for Marco Silva, Howe faced a selection dilemma ahead of this game. As much as Howe wanted to name an unchanged XI, the Newcastle boss had to take Joelinton’s drink-driving charge into account after the Brazilian was pulled over earlier this week.
Although Joelinton was ‘very remorseful’ and desperate to play, Howe was still wrestling with that decision on Friday. Howe ultimately held further talks with Joelinton and the Newcastle boss included the 26-year-old in his starting XI as he kept faith with the side that defeated Leicester City in the cup on Tuesday night.
It was a special atmosphere that night and there was a hell of noise before kick-off five days later as Wor Flags unfurled a tribute to Howe in the Leazes End complete with a banner that quoted the Newcastle boss: “We’re not here to be popular. We’re here to compete.”
That can no longer be in doubt and there were just five minutes on the clock when Bruno Guimaraes slipped Sean Longstaff in with a superb through ball. However, Issa Diop made a last-ditch tackle just as the midfielder was about to pull the trigger.
It felt like a big moment, even so early in the game, and well-drilled Fulham quickly settled as the visitors asked one or two questions of their own with some teasing deliveries into the box. Newcastle, clearly, was going to have to be patient as Fulham got bodies back whenever the Magpies broke forward.
It was the kind of game where Bruno’s playmaking ability was sorely needed and the Brazil international was determined to carry on even after he rolled his ankle in the first half. It was Bruno who worked the ball out to Kieran Trippier midway through the first half and the right-back’s cross found the head of Wilson, but Bernd Leno caught it comfortably.
It was the first glimpse at goal for Wilson and, in the 39th minute, Fabian Schar fed the Newcastle number nine, who expertly turned his marker before Leno tipped his effort over the bar. Wilson then went even closer just before half-time but, this time, his shot was held by Leno.
By that stage, Bruno was in tears, knowing he had to come off, and the 25-year-old was replaced by Allan Saint-Maximin at the break as Joelinton dropped into midfield. Even without their star midfielder, the Magpies soon came mightily close to breaking the deadlock.
There were 61 minutes on the clock when Newcastle was awarded a free-kick just outside the area after Joelinton was fouled by Tim Ream. Fabian Schar stepped up and the defender’s well-struck effort cannoned off the upright.
You wondered if it was going to be one of those days for Newcastle and Fulham was awarded a penalty by VAR just a few minutes later when Bobby Decordova-Reid was brought down by Kieran Trippier. Mitrovic duly converted the spot-kick but the goal was dramatically disallowed after the former Newcastle striker slipped and kicked the ball into his standing foot before it hit the back of the net.
It was a huge let-off for Newcastle and the cue for Howe to throw on record signing Alexander Isak for Joe Willock as the Magpie’s head coach switched to a 4-2-3-1 and went for broke. The momentum was with Newcastle and Saint-Maximin nearly fired his side in front in the 77th minute, but the Frenchman’s low shot went just wide from the edge of the area.
As time ticked by, Howe threw on further fresh legs in the form of Jacob Murphy, who picked out Trippier on the right in the 89th minute. Trippier then pulled it back to Longstaff, whose cross found Wilson at the back post. Although Wilson’s initial header ricocheted off Issa Diop, the striker was first to the ball to hook it back across the goal and there was Isak to bundle home – and raise the roof.
