Newcastle 1-0 Fulham: Toon leave it late as Alexander Isak punishes Mitrovic slip
You know what they say about good teams - they find a way to win even when playing well below their best!
That was true of Newcastle United today, who left it late to beat an organised Fulham side after a solid yet sloppy performance at St James' Park.
Aleksandar Mitrovic had a chance to hand Fulham a second half lead from the spot, but it was Alexander Isak who came up trumps, heading home in the 89th minute to send the Gallowgate wild!
Late victories like this are also priceless, giving us another monumental boost at the end of a rollercoaster week on Tyneside. OK, we were way off our electric, high-intensity best, barely tested Leno and looked unlikely from set pieces, but it's another huge three points where we restricted the visitors to zero shots on target.
The win sends us up to third - back above Manchester United - and just one point behind Manchester City in second. That's also our SIXTH straight Premier League clean sheets and our seventh straight at SJP in all competitions, extending our unbeaten run in the Premier League to 14 games.
Joelinton kept his place in the side, despite his arrest in the early hours of Thursday morning for drink driving, leaving Allan Saint-Maximin on the bench alongside fit-again striker Alexander Isak as Howe went with the same 11 that beat Leicester in midweek.
The first half saw us continue the theme of spurning good chances at St James’ Park. We didn’t have a great deal of openings, as an in-form Fulham generally defended well, but there were a few big openings.
Bruno played a brilliant disguised pass to find Longstaff - who was making a couple of smart runs in the box - but his effort was blocked brilliantly. Wilson had a huge opportunity to make it 1-0 just before the break - his turn was superb to leave two Fulham defenders for dead, yet the finish was game and curled straight at Leno.
There were a few too many sloppy passes as we looked to build from the back. Trippier, Botman and Burn were all guilty of cheap giveaways, while Schar was arguably our best player in the opening 45, picking out some lovely passes and dealing with Mitrovic well.
The bad news was Bruno failed to shake off a twisted ankle picked up midway through the first 45, seeing him replaced by Allan Saint-Maximin at the break. It felt like a huge blow to lose the Brazilian, who looked visibly upset as he went down the tunnel.
We continued to look a few levels below our best - Trippier was having a rare off game and Wilson looked sluggish once again. Fabian Schar was the first to go close in the second half, smashing a free-kick off the post on the hour mark, but the biggest turning point of the game followed five minutes later.
Fulham wanted a penalty for Burn's challenge on Andreas, but it was Trippier's late swipe on Decordova-Reid that was shown to the referee before he changed his initial decision and pointed to the spot.
Mitrovic stepped up, scored and reeled away in celebration, only for the referee to disallow the Serbian's strike as a slip just as he struck the ball meant he touched it twice before it hit the net!
A wave of energy, noise and optimism suddenly whipped around the stadium. It felt like we'd suddenly been given the lift we needed and a second chance to win a game that looked destined to end all square if we didn't get going.
Isak came on immediately after, giving fans another reason to believe, although we continued to look unlikely in the final third, with Saint-Maximin's firing just wide before the match-winning moment arrived.
After Wilson's initial header was blocked following Longstaff's teasing cross, our number nine latched onto the loose ball and put it on a plate for Isak, who headed into an empty net and celebrated his first goal at the Gallowgate!
Joelinton was a man mountain once again - he and Schar were the best players on the pitch, for me - while Longstaff put in a strong, under the radar display in midfield. Wilson continues to look off the pace and Trippier put in one of his poorer games for the club, but it's a relief to see him and Schar avoid yellow cards that would've led to a one-game ban.
Bruno's twisted ankle remains a big worry - he left the ground on crutches - and our performance was well below the standard set in recent months, however late wins like this can be priceless, seeing us beat an in-form Fulham side who'd won all of their last five games since the World Cup break.
Next up, a trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday, followed by our semi-final first leg at Southampton a week on Tuesday.
(4-3-3): Pope – Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn – Longstaff, Guimaraes, Willock – Almiron, Wilson, Joelinton.
SUBS: Dubravka, Lascelles, Isak, Saint-Maximin, Ritchie, Lewis, Manquillo, Wood, Murphy.
