Getting the job done at Southampton in the first-leg of a Carabao Cup semi-final? This really did feel like a new era for Newcastle United.
It was not always like this, of course. As recently as last season, under the previous manager, Newcastle could not see the game out against the same opponent at St James' Park despite taking the lead in the 91st minute. The nervy Magpies conceded a penalty in the final minutes of stoppage time that James Ward-Prowse confidently dispatched.
It was two points dropped in a campaign where Newcastle threw away a whopping 24 points from winning positions in the Premier League. That was the difference between Newcastle finishing 11th, as they did, and fourth.
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Yet Newcastle have long since transformed into a more streetwise outfit. In truth, this is a completely different team and you have to go back to August for the last time Eddie Howe's side failed to hold onto a lead.
That ability to manage games meant there was to be no grandstand finish for Southampton in the Saints' 1-0 defeat on Tuesday night. Although Adam Armstrong did have a goal disallowed, shortly after Joelinton broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute, the visitors soon took the sting out of the game and Southampton did not have another chance in the final quarter of an hour. Much to the hosts' frustration after Nick Pope had earlier made two fine saves to keep Che Adams out before Newcastle took the lead.
It was telling that Southampton, rather than Newcastle, had to resort to a cynical tackle late on when Duje Caleta-Car took Allan Saint-Maximin out after the substitute ran at the Saints' tired defence. Caleta-Car was already on a booking so referee Stuart Attwell had no option but to brandish another yellow card and send the centre-back off.
A furious Caleta-Car then pushed Bruno Guimaraes after the Brazil international roared in delight. Bruno's team-mates were quick to step in; Jacob Murphy and Joelinton shoved Caleta-Car away and Sean Longstaff and Alexander Isak also arrived as back up. Caleta-Car was finally waved off the field by Murphy just a few seconds later. Whatever about what he can do with the ball, you can see how a scrapper like Anthony Gordon would fit into this group.
"The fight for each other, the team unity and the team work on the pitch was of the highest level," Howe told reporters after the game.
An irate Gordon was certainly not shy in squaring up to Kieran Trippier after the Newcastle defender told the 21-year-old exactly what he thought of his attempts to win a penalty when Newcastle played Everton at St James' back in October. Fabian Schar rushed over to repeatedly push Gordon and there were soon 17 players from both sides sizing each other up.
That's exactly what Howe wanted. The Newcastle boss always tells his players that they need to stand up for each other on the pitch and that has become a hallmark of this side.
Who could forget how Dan Burn's team-mates backed him up after Kai Havertz pushed the defender following Newcastle's 1-0 win against Chelsea back in November? As Burn told the club's match day programme last month: "We're not just a team of nice guys...we can mix it up and give as good as we get."
Howe has pointed to the 'know-how' of senior players like Burn and Kieran Trippier for making Newcastle 'more streetwise' and that experience ultimately told in the closing stages against Southampton.
"The players delivered a mature performance," Howe added. "There's a lot of players that have got good experience and been in this position before. Maybe not in the Carabao Cup, but in different competitions. They used those experiences really well. I'd like to think we will be better for the game."
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