Who could have imagined Eddie Howe would become synonymous with thoroughly streetwise, defensive efficiency?
Admittedly it might have been different had Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic not seen a second-half penalty disallowed for a freakish and entirely accidental double touch but Newcastle have conceded only 11 goals in 19 Premier League games.
Despite being made to work extremely hard by Marco Silva’s side, they remain firmly in contention for Champions League qualification thanks to an 89th-minute intervention from a £60m striker who had become something of an invisible man on Tyneside in recent months.
Sweden’s Alexander Isak jogged a few memories after stepping off the bench to head Newcastle’s close-range winner on his first Premier League appearance since sustaining a thigh injury in September. “The missed penalty gave us a massive lift, gave our players a sense of freedom and really got the crowd behind us,” said Howe, whose team have kept five straight clean sheets. “I’m really pleased for Alex. It could be a very big moment in our season. We’ll do everything not to concede and we’re in a very good place.”
Silva suggested a degree of cynicism had helped transport Newcastle there. “They have quality but Newcastle are also really physical,” he said, somewhat pointedly. The Fulham manager was extremely critical of the referee, Robert Jones, but did not go quite as far as endorsing suggestions that Howe’s players had deliberately scuffed the turf around the penalty spot just before Mitrovic stepped forward.
The Serbia striker, formerly of Newcastle, slipped in the process of executing his kick and knocked the ball on to his standing foot before watching it spin into the far corner of Nick Pope’s net. “I saw many players around the penalty spot beforehand but I cannot say,” said Silva. “I just like to say things I am sure about.”
Certainty entered the Portuguese’s voice when he discussed the events prefacing that 69th-minute incident. Silva claimed Jones had missed two blatant fouls in the box, arguing Dan Burn should have been dismissed for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity by sending Andreas Pereira tumbling before Kieran Trippier tripped Bobby Decordova-Reid.
Eventually a VAR review led to the penalty award but, by then, Silva was incandescent. “It’s difficult to see how the referee did not see at least one before the VAR,” he said. “There were many fouls from Newcastle but the decisions today were almost all against us. It can happen, I can have bad afternoons and the referee did not have his best game. But the first foul [from Burn] was a clear penalty and red card. It is a clear mistake from the referee and I don’t see how VAR missed the red card. It made a huge impact. I have much more problems with that than the penalty itself. If Mitrovic touched it twice, it has to be disallowed.”
Howe’s principal worry was the ankle injury which necessitated the withdrawal of his key midfielder Bruno Guimarães at the interval. “Bruno needs a scan, which is never a good sign,” he said. “With hindsight I should have taken him off earlier. We hope it’s not long term.”
Before kick-off a banner unfurled by home fans in the Leazes End declared: “We’re not here to be popular, we’re here to compete,” and Fulham soon received confirmation that Howe is an infinitely more pragmatic coach than during his days choreographing a defensively generous Bournemouth.
He still likes his creative players, though, and the second-half introduction of Allan Saint-Maximin on the left wing enabled Newcastle to edge it on a day when their manager courted controversy by selecting Joelinton in his starting XI despite the Brazilian having been charged with drink-driving last week.
“I had a long meeting with my coaching staff yesterday and we debated it,” said Howe. “I didn’t underestimate what Joe did but there are a whole host of things to consider and I had to make the decision.”
Newcastle looked appreciably more dangerous when Joelinton dropped into midfield to accommodate Saint-Maximin. They had earlier struggled to conjure clear chances against an obdurate Fulham defence bolstered by Bernd Leno’s goalkeeping excellence.
Although Leno saved well from Callum Wilson, and Fabian Schär’s free-kick hit a post, inviting openings were at a premium until Wilson flicked Longstaff’s cross into Isak’s path. “I’m very proud of my players,” said Silva. “To lose like that was brutal.”
