Newcastle 2-1 Leicester: Scenes at SJP as Bruno brace leaves NUFC looking up!
Yet another brilliant win at St James' Park for Eddie Howe's high-flying Mags, as Bruno Guimaraes scored a 94th minute header to send the Gallowgate wild and almost certainly secure our Premier League status!
It wasn't a great game, with both sides struggling in the final third in a stop-start affair that never really got going, but it didn't matter in the end.
After Ademola Lookman opened the scoring for Leicester with a well worked corner, Bruno equalised 15 minutes before the break with a close range finish that was initially ruled out by the referee before a second look at the pitch-side monitor soon changed his mind.
The second half was a forgettable affair for the most part, until a brilliant run from Joe Willock saw his deflected cross fall perfectly for who else but Bruno, who guided a 94th minute diving header into the top corner to seal all three points!
Our £35m Brazilian will grab all of the headlines, however there were a few unsung heroes on the day. Emil Krafth was outstanding at right-back, putting in the sort of all action display we couldn't have imagined a few month ago, while Miguel Almiron's energy and ingenuity was a breath of fresh air as he put in a lively display in his first start at St James' Park since mid December.
It was another day where things didn't come off for Allan Saint-Maximin and a quiet Chris Wood was unable to build on last Friday's goal, however it says a lot about this new-look side that we can find a way to win games when several key men aren't firing.
The result sends us 12 clear of third bottom Burnley - who conceded late to draw at West Ham in today's other 2.15pm kick off - and leaves us looking up ahead of the final few weeks of the season, with us now just three points away from Leicester in 9th!
That's now FIVE victories on the trot at St James' Park. If that alone wasn't impressive enough, the Premier League table for 2022 alone has us sat in 2nd, highlighting what an incredible job Eddie Howe has done.
No team in Premier League history has ever survived after failing to win any of their opening 14 games, yet here we are - safe by mid April and in with a very real chance of securing a top 10 finish if we can keep this run of form going!
Next up, another home game against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night!
STARTING 11: Dubravka – Krafth, Schar, Burn, Targett – Guimaraes, Shelvey (c), Joelinton – Almiron, Wood, Saint-Maximin.
SUBS: Darlow, Dummett, Lascelles, Fernández, Ritchie, S Longstaff, Willock, Murphy, Gayle.
