Long before the end Burnley were down to 10 men, en route towards a sixth straight Premier League defeat and concerned, largely, with damage limitation. But then, as is becoming a habit here, Newcastle lost concentration and Burnley very nearly pickpocketed a last-minute point when Josh Laurent miscued a glorious headed chance to equalise in the dying seconds.
“We have to improve,” said the home manager, Eddie Howe. “It was a bizarre ending, and a sluggish start, but we got the job done. It was a tough game and the vibrant second half I was hoping for didn’t happen, but we’ve taken 10 points from the last possible 12. That’s no mean feat so let’s be positive rather than negative; we’re moving in the right direction.”
To their considerable credit, Burnley never surrendered and pushed hard at the door opened by Zian Flemming’s late penalty. If it is easy to joke that Burnley’s biggest source of elan is their manager’s dress sense, those who argue Scott Parker should be replaced did not see how hard the players fought for him. Lucas Pires’s 43rd-minute sending off ensured his day would end badly but Howe’s post match relief spoke volumes.
“I feel frustrated and disappointed,” Parker said. “It’s tough. That was an incredible performance from us, probably our best of the season. We’ve set a new bar, today is how I want us to look.”
Newcastle’s lack of invention in open play left them dependent on attacking set plays and they took the lead from one as Bruno Guimarães’s corner swerved wickedly before dropping into Martin Dubravka’s net.
Burnley’s goalkeeper, making his first return to St James’ Park since leaving Newcastle during the summer, is still cross with Howe – a former Burnley manager – for dropping him for last season’s Carabao Cup final and he reminded everyone of his quality with some very decent saves.
Pires was shown a straight red card for felling Anthony Elanga just outside the area when the Newcastle winger was clean through. Next, Lesley Ugochukwu’s handball in first-half stoppage time prefaced Anthony Gordon doubling Newcastle’s advantage from the penalty spot. Gordon had earlier used his left foot to graze a post.
After a bright opening featuring plenty of intelligent passing and movement, not to mention missed half-chances, Burnley, albeit temporarily, looked a little lost.
During those early exchanges Newcastle’s had frequently been slapdash in possession and looked jaded before an eight-day period featuring Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Bayer Leverkusen and next Sunday’s north-east derby at Sunderland.
They livened up after the 35th-minute booking collected by Kyle Walker that dictated the former England right-back could no longer afford to take too many risks in his compelling duel with Gordon.
The England winger’s final act was to direct a shot against the crossbar before being withdrawn in a double substitution in the 74th minute featuring his replacement by Joelinton and Yoane Wissa taking Nick Woltemade’s place.
More than three months on from his £55m transfer deadline day move from Brentford, Wissa was finally making his Newcastle debut. A knee injury sustained on international duty with DR Congo in early September has sidelined Newcastle’s latest No 9, but he was finally able to impress with a series of deft touches and some clever link play.
In contrast, Jacob Ramsey, making a rare appearance in the first team after his £40m summer move from Aston Villa struggled at times in midfield and it was his stoppage-time handball that led to Flemming’s reduction of the deficit from the penalty spot.
Visiting heartache would flow from Edwards’s subsequent free-kick, but Parker’s pride remained undimmed. “I’ve got a team there,” he said. “We’ve set down a marker for the rest of the season.”
