The match report is now live via Louise Taylor.
And, as ever, that draws our minute-by-minute coverage to a close for this evening. Once again it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to bring it to you. Thanks for reading; until next time!
Jordan Henderson has hijacked the post-match interview with Sky and is full of praise for his teammates.
He says: “I thought the boys were outstanding again, the whole game we dug in and deservedly got the three points. The work rate that goes on behind the scenes during the week is huge. And we get our rewards for that.”
Vitaly Janelt has a hearty laugh when it’s put to him that he scored his first goal in a year.
There’s a bit of confusion and hilarity as the interview ends when Henderson realised Janelt wasn’t the recipient of the Player of the Match award.
According to Opta, Newcastle have dropped more points from winning positions than any other team in the Premier League this season (19). Ouch.
An email from Kevin Wilson on the player who made the big difference tonight:
Ouattara had a pretty mixed season for Bournemouth last year so it was quite amazing to see Brentford drop £40m plus on him this summer, but fair play he’s been really impressive.
Newcastle’s players look absolutely broken as they slump to the St James’s Park turf after full-time. The club can probably kiss goodbye to top tier European football for next season. Their campaign likely now rests on how far they can progress in the Champions League.
Brentford, on the other hand, may start dreaming of Europe. They’ve done the double over Newcastle this season, putting six goals past them in the process.
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FT: Newcastle 2-3 Brentford
That’s it, Brentford get all three points and consign Newcastle to a third straight defeat. Eddie Howe’s side haven’t won in the Premier League since 7 January and have picked up just one victory in their past nine games in all competitions.
It’s a really rotten run which is in complete contrast to Brentford’s brilliant form. The Bees have beaten Aston Villa and Newcastle away from home in successive games. What a job Keith Andrews is doing.
Ouattara gets the broadcasters’ Player of the Match award, deservedly so. He’s had a day out.
90 mins +6: Hall gets a booking for his troubles after being penalised once again. Newcastle really haven’t responded well to the Ouattara goal, they look shellshocked by it.
90 mins +4: Newcastle’s frustration is bubbling over. Hall thinks he should have got a free-kick but instead Andy Madley whistles in Brentford’s favour.
90 mins +2: Hall is now playing right-back and wins a free-kick, which brings about a big chance for Thiaw. Elanga was in space and found the centre-back but the finish was lacking.
NINE minutes of added time. This ain’t over for Newcastle, not by a long chalk.
89 mins: Dan Burn has come on for Newcastle and he may as well stay up front to try and win aerial duels.
We’ll get a fair chunk of added time in this one.
87 mins: “Wissa, what’s the score?” is the ditty from Brentford’s fans.
The rest of the stadium is deathly quiet, reeling from that sucker punch.
Jensen found the former Bournemouth winger in acres of space – Newcastle have been leaving those pockets throughout the game – and Ouattara needed no second invitation to drill low and hard with his left foot into the corner. Superb goal.
GOAL! Newcastle 2-3 Brentford (Ouattara, 86)
It is Ouattara who thunders Brentford back ahead! A rasping low effort that Nick Pope simply couldn’t stop.
If ever a player deserved a goal …
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85 mins: Chaos-ball is suddenly working wonders for Newcastle, but that back door is still very much ajar if Brentford fancy a stab at nicking it on the break. Thiago’s linkup play has been sharp and Ouattara is lightning quick.
83 mins: I dare say there is a certain theatre that VAR has brought to football.
Anyway, Newcastle are pushing for a winner here, but Osula is held up by some dogged Brentford defending.
82 mins: What is this game of thrills going to throw up next?
“Naysayers be damned, VAR is brilliant,” says Niall Mullen on email. “Football was barely watchable before the explosion in penalties and people asking for penalties.”
Two penalties, another penalty that might have been, two other goals… and still plenty of time left. What a Saturday night treat this game has been.
80 mins: St James’s Park is thrumming with noise now; the home supporters will believe their side can kick on and nick this.
Romelle Donovan has been introduced by Brentford.
GOAL! Newcastle 2-2 Brentford (Guimarães, 79)
Guimarães dusts himself down and stands over the penalty … he makes no mistake! Kelleher went the wrong way.
There was no card for Kayode, by the way, but he was furious with the awarding of the penalty.
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Penalty. It’s another soft one, as Kayode is adjudged to have fouled Guimarães when the Newcastle man was charging to meet Elanga’s cross. Is that the denial of a goalscoring chance too?
The referee took an absolute age to look at the screen, checking and double-checking, eventually announcing “there is a careless trip” by Kayode.
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On-field review! Maybe Guimarães was fouled after all. Andy Madley is going to the screen.
75 mins: A fast breakaway from Newcastle sees Osula go left to Elanga, whose cross evades everyone. Guimarães has stayed down after lunging for the ball. I’m not sure it’s a penalty but the Brazilian is definitely hurt.
74 mins: Ouattara does brilliantly for Brentford once again, racing forward to alleviate the pressure on his defenders, winning a corner.
The set-piece is swung in by Jensen but powerfully met by Botman’s head.
71 mins: Some determined defending from Lewis-Potter stops Hall from surging down the Newcastle left, before Woltemade runs into trouble on the edge of the box.
This isn’t quite happening for the home side. Credit to Brentford for their organisation.
69 mins: There’s still 25 minutes (including the likely added time) to go in this one and Eddie Howe has played all his attacking trump cards.
Thiago is going to get booked for thundering into the back of Lewis Hall as they challenged for a header.
67 mins: And just as I type that, Thiaw steps forward out of the backline and thunders a shot that stings the palms of Kelleher. Close.
And the resulting corner is nodded just wide by the goalscorer, Botman. Close again.
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There’s just no pattern to Newcastle’s attacks, no discernible plan other than to wallop it forward and hope the pace of Barnes and Elanga means they can create something from the long searching balls. They’ve really lacked cohesion through the middle this afternooon; Guimarães looks a long way off his best.
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65 mins: There’s another handball penalty appeal for Andy Madley to deal with, and he responds to the Newcastle shouts that Ajer had handled it… by giving a Brentford free-kick for offside.
Wissa, who has been fairly poor, is removed in place of Osula.
63 mins: Yet another attacking player is being readied by the Newcastle coaching staff. Will Osula is stripped and receiving his instructions.
62 mins: This is a masterclass in game management and defensive organisation from Brentford at the minute.
61 mins: I’ve noticed this a few times lately – officials insisting that throw-ins are taken from the position the ball went out even when the taker is trying to retreat a few yards. It just happened with Trippier there. Odd.
59 mins: Kayode hurls a long throw right into the mixer. There’s all sorts of pushing and shoving going on but Pope catches at the second attempt.
57 mins: Yarmoliuk has a piece of paper, which he’s passed on to Janelt. A quick read, some hand signals and it’s gone straight into the sock. Modern football eh.
56 mins: This is end-to-end now. Newcastle aren’t bothering to leave bodies when they attack, which could bring something for Brentford on the counter.
The visitors are going to replace Jordan Henderson with Yegor Yarmoliuk. Perhaps some fresh legs and an injection of energy in a high-pace game.
54 mins: Barnes heads wide. He had to generate his own power on that header, with Trippier’s looping cross losing momentum and the former Leicester man a good eight or nine yards from goal when he met it.
52 mins: It’s a bit frenetic from Newcastle right now, all bluster and not much composure.
It’s been a tough old evening for Andy Madley and the officials; and they’ve not necessarily got the big calls right, though that one was clearly correct.
No it was off Henry’s chest. That will not be given by VAR so it’s just a corner for Newcastle.
51 mins: Brentford are now looking to make the game as scrappy and scruffy as they can, and take time out of it.
Trippier is the latest to appeal for a penalty for handball. Did that come off Rico Henry’s arm as the cross came in?
48 mins: Newcastle are at least on the front foot, now their side is packed with attacking options. Those of a black and white persuasion may worry about where such an aggressive lineup will leave them in terms of midfield cover.
Will that mean Woltemade and Wissa play as a strike pairing? It looks that way, a straight 4-4-2 for Newcastle?
46 mins: Nick Woltemade and Anthony Elanga have replaced Joe Willock and Jacob Murphy for Newcastle. Ultra-positive changes from Eddie Howe.
We’re back under way.
We’ll start the second half coverage with a deserved bit of praise for Rico Henry, from reader Kári Tulinius
I was struck by something Rico Henry did at around the 20th minute. He chased down a ball rolling out of bounds, and that resulted in about three-four minutes of concerted pressure by Brentford. I paid attention to him for the rest of the half, and even in a side as industrious as the Bees, he’s notably selfless and hardworking. I doubt he’ll be mentioned in match reports, but he’s impressed me.
On Sky Sports, Les Ferdinand has described Dango Ouattara’s ball for Brentford’s first goal as “one of the best crosses I’ve seen all season”. And there’s a man who knew what a decent crossed looked like.
“Couldn’t envisage a worse response to our failed Worthington Cup defence,” says Newcastle fan Chris Paraskevas – he’s back in my inbox again. “Deservedly behind. And I had to wake up for this game in the middle of a heatwave, so the poor performance is magnified by the pool of sweat I’m sitting in.
“This is the EPL season on the line right here, but we are displaying the urgency of a Sunday kickabout.”
I agree with every word, Chris. Apart from calling it the ‘EPL’.
An email from Matthew Guite has arrived questioning my use of the term “neutrals”.
Who are these ‘neutrals’. My guess for this game is that 85% of those watching have a direct interest, positive or negative, in one or other of the teams... And from a Newcastle perspective its been pretty dire. And just got worse.
HT: Newcastle 1-2 Brentford.
Eddie Howe was furiously scribbling on his notepad as the half came to a close. The Newcastle manager certainly has some thinking to do during the break. His team have been outplayed for much of this game so far, with Brentford coming to the north-east with a positive gameplan – which they’ve executed to perfection so far. They’ve pressed diligently and they’ve carved out opportunities for their talented forward players. Ouattara and Lewis-Potter have particularly impressed.
Newcastle’s confidence at St James’s Park looks very brittle at the moment. They’re going to need to rouse themselves for a second half comeback.
Brentford’s away fans are loudly singing Thiago’s name. He’s cool, calm and collected, that man. That goal prompted huge fist pump from Keith Andrews and a hug between manager and goalscorer.
GOAL! Newcastle 1-2 Brentford (Thiago, 45+2)
Igor Thiago steps up from 12 yards … and sends Pope the wrong way with an assured penalty kick!
What a finish to the first half for Brentford.
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Murphy doesn’t really stick his arm out. It doesn’t seem an unnatural position. VAR has had a long hard look … and stayed with the on-field call. It’s probably justice after that earlier Brentford penalty shout was waved way.
Penalty to Brentford! Ouattara took too long when given loads of space in the Newcastle box, opting to square it to Jensen instead. It’s alleged that Jacob Murphy handled the ball from Jensen’s shot.
VAR is looking. Tricky one, this. I’m really not sure.
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43 mins: Newcastle really haven’t got Bruno Guimarães on the ball enough, so far. Maybe the Brazilian is still working his was back to match fitness, or maybe Brentford’s waspish disruptors have successfully denied the home side their talisman.
Either way Howe must work out how to get Guimarães into the game.
Lewis-Potter whacked it at the wall himself. Speculative was the word.
40 mins: Lewis-Potter proves himself a menace once more, skipping through the middle and winning his side a free-kick. This is some 30 yards from goal, but maybe someone will fancy a speculative hit …
39 mins: This has been a fun half of football to watch, from a neutral’s perspective.
Dango Ouattara take a bow. What a cross. Janelt’s header wasn’t the cleanest, but it was directed down and far enough away from Nick Pope to leave the Newcastle keeper stranded. Back to parity.
GOAL! Newcastle 1-1 Brentford (Janelt, 37)
The immediate answer to the question posed below is no, but the goal has come for Brentford! They deserve that. That’s a superb cross from Ouattara from the left to make the chance for Janelt to nod home.
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35 mins: A storming run from centre-back by Kristoffer Ajer splits the hosts and earns Brentford a corner. Can they hit back via a set-piece?
34 mins: Back come Brentford, though. They’re building their attacks a little slower now, perhaps mindful of a quickfire Newcastle second that could kill the game. A period of possession is welcome, momentarily taking the sting out of the Gallowgate noise.
32 mins: The sea change in momentum has been quite astonishing to see in the past five minutes or so. Suddenly, it’s all going Newcastle’s way and they’re pinning Brentford back.
30 mins: These Guimarães corners for Newcastle are Arsenal-esque; he’s whipping them right under the crossbar from the left.
It’s palmed out by Kelleher for Tonali but the Italian volleys over the bar.
29 mins: Somehow it’s not 2-0 to Newcastle. Janelt hacks one clear off the line as Wissa very nearly finishes a sequence that started with a driving Lewis Hall run into the box, and was followed by a cutback across the six-yard box. The hosts smell a second, for sure.
28 mins: Willock is showing the odd turn of pace down the Newcastle left, playing a sort of hybrid leftish-midfield role as Barnes drifts inside to join Wissa in attack.
26 mins: Andrews will be feeling sick as a parrot to concede a goal like that after all Brentford’s good work in the opening 20 minutes or so.
His team look undeterred, mind, pushing forward once again.
Oh no, it’s actually a pretty smart glancing header from Botman, a delicate touch after he rose highest to meet the in-swinging corner. Fair play.
That’s the lift the home side needed!
GOAL! Newcastle 1-0 Brentford (Botman, 24)
Guimarães sends in a couple of corners from the left, the second of which goes in! Sven Botman runs away to celebrate but I’m not sure how much he knew about it. Totally against the run of play.
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Brentford have won four of their past five away matches in all competitions. I think we’re seeing why right now. Keith Andrews has this mob superbly organised.
21 mins: Kayode skips past a couple of Newcastle bodies and links up neatly with Ouattara, collecting the return pass and nearly picking out Lewis-Potter with a fizzing low cross from the right. More Brentford pressure for Newcastle to withstand.
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19 mins: A few groans and frustrated cries of ‘come on’ greet another Newcastle error in possession. Yep, the home faithful know their team need a lift here.
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17 mins: Mathias Jensen is almost the beneficiary of another loose pass in the Newcastle defence. It was a tame shot in the end from the Dane, who had options either side of him but opted to try and test Nick Pope.
16 mins: Newcastle are a bit of a mess at the back, mind you. Brentford’s Dango Ouattara is causing problems charging down the visitors’ right.
15 mins: Newcastle are slowly waking up and getting back into it. A few set-pieces are coming their way – the most recent of which sees Barnes presented with a good chance, which he flicks just wide on the spin.
13 mins: Lewis-Potter has been a busy bee in these early stages, if you’ll pardon the pun. He’s nominally playing left wing but has been popping up in some interesting positions.
11 mins: Sandro Tonali somehow persuaded Trippier to step away from that free-kick and let him have a pop, I think the more experienced man will be pulling rank and taking the next one after Tonali’s effort sails into the Gallowgate.
The more replays of that early non-penalty decision I see, the more I think the officials have made a boo-boo.
9 mins: Henderson trips Lewis Hall – who impresses me every time I watch him, by the way – and Newcastle have a free-kick in a favourable spot here.
8 mins: Jordan Henderson is getting a smattering of boos from the Newcastle faithful for his Sunderland connections. It does sound a bit half-hearted though.
He’s seen a lot of the ball early on as Brentford look to build on their positive start. To say the home team look nervy would be an understatement.
6 mins: It’s been an odd start to the game. Both teams are looking to go very direct.
I don’t want to go all conspiracy theory, but I think most home teams would get that penalty. The fact you can barely hear Brentford’s modest away contingent in the big bowl of St James’s surely does make a subtle difference.
4 mins: At the other end Harvey Barnes lines up a long-ranger, trying to curl it inside the far post, but sets it out a little too far. That was travelling at some speed, mind.
On that penalty check, VAR had a long old look. It really seemed to me that Trippier tugged back Lewis-Potter. Newcastle can consider themselves fortunate.
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2 mins: Anyway, the away side have started fairly positively, knocking it about until a long-ball almost finds its way through to Lewis-Potter, who believes he was dragged down trying to latch onto that one.
VAR to check it?
1 min: Brentford’s sky blue and brownish away number isn’t a million miles off Belgium’s recent Tintin-inspired change strip. Jury’s out, for me.
KICK OFF
Andy Madley gives us a long peeeeeep of his whistle and we’re off.
The players are out and we’re almost ready to go. Chris Paraskevas emails in, presumably from Australia/somewhere far away where it’s currently very early in the morning:
This might seem a little pessimistic but at the end of the day, anyone forced to wake up for Kieran Trippier’s ‘set pieces’ (loose definition) at 4:30 in the morning isn’t/couldn’t possibly be concerned with staying positive.
(He’s still predicting a 3-2 win for his team, Newcastle).
Close game in the rugby.
Newcastle still have a formidable home record this season. Before the 2-0 defeat by Aston Villa a fortnight ago, they’d not actually been toppled at St James’s Park in the Premier League since Arsenal beat them 2-1 in September. The FA Cup penalty shootout defeat to Bournemouth and the Carabao Cup shellacking by Manchester City have obviously dented the confidence somewhat, but on their home patch Eddie Howe’s side are strong.
It’s around about this time that I ask you for your score predictions – send them to me via email if you wish.
I shall also remind you that the last three games I’ve live-blogged for the Guardian have brought four goals – two 3-1 home wins and a 2-2 draw. So I’m predicting a 3-1 Newcastle win to continue the trend. Wissa would just love a goal, wouldn’t he? And it’s about time Howe’s boys got back on track at home.
With less than half an hour until kick-off please enjoy this excellent Jonathan Liew read on Newcastle’s PSR and ownership predicament.
The results in the earlier games mean Brentford can still go level on points with sixth-placed Liverpool with a win on Tyneside. Newcastle will jump into the top half if they claim the three points. Fulham and Sunderland losing will give cheer to these two teams for a few reasons.
The middle of the Premier League table is a very fluid situation this season.
The 3pm games are all coming to a conclusion – follow the latest updates with my colleague Emillia Hawkins here.
It is an almighty boost for Newcastle to have Guimarães back in their midfield. They’re just a different team without him. The only downside for Eddie Howe this evening is Anthony Gordon’s absence – the winger hasn’t recovered from a hamstring injury in time to feature.
It’ll be a particularly big night for Yoane Wissa, who is again preferred to Nick Woltemade up front for Newcastle. Wissa was injured for the Magpies’ 3-1 defeat at his former club Brentford earlier in the season.
Igor Thiago has fared pretty well as Wissa’s de facto replacement this season and the Brazilian – who has 16 goals in the league this season – will be key if the Bees are to come away with a positive result this afternoon.
Team news
Newcastle: Pope; Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Guimarães, Tonali, Willock; J.Murphy, Wissa, Barnes.
Subs: Ramsdale, Osula, Elanga, Woltemade, Burn, A.Murphy, Ramsey, Shahar, Neave.
Brentford: Kelleher; Kayode, Van den Berg, Ajer, Henry; Henderson, Janelt; Ouattara, Jensen, Lewis-Potter; I.Thiago.
Subs: Valdimarsson, Hickey, Pinnock, Nelson, Yarmoliuk, Collins, Damsgaard, Donovan, Furo.
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Preamble
A run of four games without a win and some existential angst regarding PSR and a lack of January transfer activity has put Eddie Howe and Newcastle fans in a pretty grumpy mood of late. But it’s really not all bad news. Three of those four matches came against PSG, Liverpool and Manchester City – not teams the Magpies are truly expected to topple – and they still sit 11th in the Premier League. Plus, the compressed nature of this year’s table means that equates to being just three points behind today’s opponents, Brentford. A win with a two-goal margin for Howe’s men tonight would draw them level with the Bees and keep European qualification hopes alive.
Bruno Guimarães is “getting closer” to a return, according to Howe, who is fully aware how his team functions – or doesn’t – without their captain and talisman. Brentford, contrastingly, have this season proved once again they are a true collective, still punching above their weight despite losing a manager and some key players. Will we see Keith Andrews on the touchline in some European fixtures next season? It’s not unfathomable.
The action at St James’ Park kicks off at 5.30pm GMT. We’ll bring you team news before then so please do stay tuned. This should be a fun one.
