Ivan Toney may have missed a penalty against Newcastle United but he showed why the Magpies have previously been interested in righting another wrong from the Mike Ashley era.
Toney was allowed to leave for Peterborough for just £650,000 and has since plundered over 100 goals since his stint at St James' Park as a youngster. And he caused Newcastle no end of problems at the Gtech Community Stadium yesterday afternoon despite his penalty blunder up against Nick Pope.
Newcastle looked at Toney as a possibility last summer before they signed Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad and he remains a striker Eddie Howe has a lot of respect for. As he stepped off the Brentford team bus yesterday a Newcastle fan quipped: "See you next season, Ivan!"
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The 27-year-old responded with a smile and even with Callum Wilson and Isak on board, there's no doubt the ex-Newcastle man - who barely got a chance on Tyneside - would bolster Howe's options in attack. Brentford slapped a £40million price tag on the star last summer who has two years left to go on his contract.
Nick Pope well over his Liverpool nightmare
Pope made a first class save to deny the usually reliable Toney from the spot in the 2-1 win over Brentford. But perhaps the biggest moment for the ex-Burnley stopper came when he rushed out to make a couple of saves late in the second half.
It was a near-immaculate piece of goal-tending from Pope and on a day in which he won man of the match he showed why Newcastle regard him so highly. Coming off his line had been a problem against Liverpool when his red card cost him a place in the Carabao Cup final.
But he has passed a huge test of character in recent games. Howe said afterwards: "I thought Popey was excellent. The save from Toney was a huge one.
"It was just disappointing for him that we didn’t really get the benefit of that because they got another one straight after. In the second half, I thought how he protected us and the goal was first class. He came for crosses, punched balls and swept up behind the backline. He’s a top-quality goalkeeper."
United are the team with momentum in Champions League race
Newcastle did not exactly make easy work of Brentford yesterday but they still stormed to a fifth win in a row in the Premier League. That put pressure on Tottenham Hotspur who edged a 2-1 win over Brighton across the capital.
Spurs face AFC Bournemouth at home next while Newcastle head to Aston Villa for the final of three successive away games. Even if Newcastle lost at Villa and Spurs won, the Magpies would still be ahead on goal difference.
And the next game that follows is the fixture between Spurs and Newcastle at St James' Park. It could well prove to be decisive in this year's top four race.
Howe's team though know if they keep on winning that Champions League place will be there's regardless.
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