This wasn't a performance full of fireworks, but Newcastle stepped up to answer some big questions against Athletic Club on Wednesday night. The defeat at West Ham United three days earlier had been characterised as the worst of Eddie Howe's reign, with the players' application, body language and mentality called into question.
At St James' Park, Newcastle are so tough to contain. Like the wins over Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Fulham in the Premier League, the team were far from their scintillating best, with a hangover from Sunday certainly in the air. But home comforts proved key again, as Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali admitted afterwards, despite away day misery prevailing.
