Fulham 3 - Newcastle United 1: How It Happened

It was a tough Saturday for Newcastle United fans as The Toon fell to their first defeat of the season at the hands of Fulham. There was a lot of optimism before this fixture, as we had started the season unbeaten having only dropped points away at Bournemouth and managed to win all our other games. Today was a chance to break into the top four and spend this weekend in those coveted Champions League positions. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as we were well beaten in the end despite dominating possession.

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First Half

Newcastle started brightly and even had the ball in the net, but the goal by Joelinton was correctly disallowed for offside when checked by VAT. Seconds later more slat was rubbed into The Magpie's wounds as Adama Traore who had an excellent game throughout this encounter managed to find Jimenez, who controlled the ball expertly before slotting it past Nick Pope to put the hosts in front. Former Arsenal man Emile Smith Rowe made matters worse by doubling the lead in the 22nd minute, combining with Alex Iwobi in a slick passing move before his shot slipped through Pope's grasp. Pope should have done better with Iwobi's effort, but the scoreline didn't flatter the hosts and they were deservedly 2-0 up at the break.

Second Half

Newcastle showed more promise after the break and started to work their way back into the tie. The lifeline came early on in the first half as Harvey Barnes pulled one back with a low shot following a pass from Jacob Murphy in the forty-sixth minute. The magpies then went on the hunt for the equaliser and the display was much improved from the first period. However, as Newcastle pushed for an equaliser, substitute Reiss Nelson capitalised on a defensive error in injury time to seal the win for Fulham and take all three for the hosts.

The defeat isn't the end of the world for The Toon and it leaves us fifth in the table with 10 points from five games. If you had told me that would be our points total after the games we have had so far, then I would have snapped your hand off. We rode our luck against Tottenham Hotspur at St James' Park so I suppose this result has evened things out a bit. All in all, I am optimistic about this season after a decent start.

What's Next For Newcastle?

Next up for The Magpies is a League Cup tie away from home against AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday night. Hopefully, the Toon can bounce back mid-week and progress to the next round. We will be favourites here and this is a competition we should be looking to win.