Kieran Trippier smiled as Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Keylor Navas attempted to get into his head. There were 93 minutes on the clock at the City Ground and so much was at stake. The next kick could have potentially huge ramifications not only in Newcastle United's season but, also, Forest's.
With the score at 1-1, Trippier looked as if he was about to take his first non-shootout penalty for the club after picking up the ball and sizing up the goal to a chorus of deafening boos. Only the stand-in Newcastle skipper had other ideas.
Trippier knew full well that it would be Alexander Isak who would ultimately step up, but the England international took some of the pressure off his team-mate by protecting him for a few precious seconds. It was a timely reminder of this side's streetwise transformation.
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A relaxed Isak duly stepped up and confidently dispatched the spot-kick, leaving Navas rooted to the spot, to send the delirious away end spilling onto the field with his second goal in a 2-1 victory. Newcastle had just moved within a point of fourth-placed Spurs on a night the visitors showed immense character.
Newcastle not only came from behind to win a game for the first time this season after recovering from Emmanuel Dennis' opener in the 26th minute - the Magpies also rallied after Elliot Anderson bizarrely had a goal disallowed midway through the second half. As part-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi put it after the game: "Warriors, absolutely f------ warriors."
No wonder the visitors were given a heroes send-off by the 3,000 Newcastle supporters who stayed behind long after the final whistle to cheer them off the field. In truth, the players did not look like they wanted to leave, either, even after throwing their shirts into the crowd as they applauded the away end one last time.
There were plenty of bumps and bruises on a night a whopping 26 fouls were committed in a game that meant so much to both teams at opposite ends of the table. Forest were desperate to maintain their six-month unbeaten record at home in the league; Newcastle were desperate to end it. Such was the ferocity of the contest, Jonjo Shelvey, with his tongue firmly in cheek, even labelled his former team-mates 'whingebags' after the midfielder somehow avoided being booked until stoppage time following a number of late tackles. Howe could only laugh when the comment was put to him.
"That's a good expression," the Newcastle head coach told reporters. "It's a difficult one. On the pitch, even I don't know quite what goes on there. Certainly I've only got positive things to say about Jonjo."
Shelvey's words were a compliment in a way - Newcastle are not a nice team to play against these days - and it is important to stress the playmaker added that he hoped his former side 'get into Europe'. You would not bet against the black-and-whites doing just that if they build on this display after the international break.
Following a previous run of one league win in eight games, all of a sudden, Newcastle have precious momentum once again after recording back-to-back wins for the first time since December. Just as Manchester United prepare to visit St James' Park in a rematch of the Carabao Cup final on April 2.
Miguel Almiron will miss that huge game, after being ruled out for six weeks with a thigh injury, while Anthony Gordon will be touch and go for it, but Newcastle look like a side with a different dimension with Isak up front. Even if Callum Wilson had been fit to feature against Forest, it was hard to imagine Howe dropping his record signing after his man of the match performance against Wolves five days earlier.
Although Howe had few alternatives - five of Newcastle's eight outfield substitutes were players who had played at left-back at some stage for the club - the Newcastle boss opted to name an unchanged side. Clearly, those attackers who started the game were going to go a long way to deciding the outcome of this game and they certainly had their chances in the opening stages. Newcastle had the first chance of note after just six minutes when Joe Willock somehow blazed over following Jacob Murphy's teasing ball across the box.
Then, just a few minutes later, Kieran Trippier caught Forest napping by cutely playing a free-kick under the wall to send Alexander Isak through, but the record signing's effort was deflected onto the crossbar by Renan Lodi and Keylor Navas claimed. Crucially, Newcastle failed to take either opening and Forest soon made the visitors pay as some familiar defensive issues reared their head.
There were 26 minutes on the clock when Sven Botman, under pressure from Andre Ayew, under hit a backpass to Nick Pope. Emmanuel Dennis pounced and expertly chipped Pope to give Forest the lead completely against the run of play.
Newcastle looked shell-shocked but, once again, the Magpies' issues in both boxes were clear - no matter how well they were playing in between. Indeed, it was rather telling that a frustrated Dan Burn soon talked himself into a booking for dissent in the 33rd minute after a throw-in was given against Newcastle deep in his half.
Yet this Forest side will give you chances and Newcastle hit the woodwork once more just a couple of minutes later when Sean Longstaff's shot from the edge of the area was deflected onto the crossbar by the sliding Felipe. Was it going to be one of those nights?
Once upon a time, maybe, but Newcastle have a striker in Isak who, in the words of Howe, 'a different player to anyone we have in the squad' and the Magpies' record signing stepped up when his side needed him most right before half-time. Isak was off-balance by the time Willock's cross reached him, but the Sweden international improvised superbly and volleyed the ball past Navas.
The City Ground fell silent - aside from the bouncing away end, that is - and the whole feel of the game changed in an instant. Howe called on his players to 'up the level' at the break, throwing on Elliot Anderson for Allan Saint-Maximin, who had a tight hamstring, and the youngster lifted this side further. Indeed, just a minute after coming on, Anderson forced Navas into a fine stop with a well-struck volley from a tight angle.
The game soon started to open up as Newcastle and Forest went in search of that crucial second goal. Shelvey fired just wide from the edge of the box in the 58th minute and, just a couple of minutes later, Bruno had an effort tipped over by Navas.
It was going to take something special to settle this and Newcastle thought they had retaken the lead in the 67th minute when Isak turned creator and scooped the ball to the back post for Anderson to head home what the Geordie thought was his first goal for the club. However, following a lengthy VAR check, the goal was disallowed after Sean Longstaff was controversially deemed to be offside in the build-up.
It was a decision that was celebrated by Forest supporters like it was a goal, but it also appeared to spur Newcastle on and the Magpies had a number of chances to win it late on - only for Murphy to lash the first, a volley, wide. Then, in the 84th minute, Isak's shot was blocked by Serge Aurier inside the area before Brennan Johnson was denied by Pope at the other end.
There was still time for stoppage time drama after Willock's cross was flicked towards goal by Isak and the ball struck the arm of Moussa Niakhate. Isak eventually stepped up and coolly sent Navas the wrong way. It felt a potentially season-defining moment.
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