Unless you were stood in the St Mary's away end on Tuesday evening, you may not be aware just how much Alexander Isak enjoyed that winner from Joelinton against Southampton. The Swede picked up possession out wide, stormed down the right, got past two Saints defenders and sent the ball across the face of goal for Joelinton to have the easiest of tap-ins.
Celebrating the goal in front of the travelling support, Isak jumped over the pitchside barriers and went to enjoy the moment with his the rampant 3,200 Newcastle fans. Isak was being hugged and kissed by the Geordie faithful as the celebrations continued, forcing Kieran Trippier to race over and try and get him back on the pitch.
Isak's introduction from the bench was a game-changing moment by Eddie Howe and the calls are growing for the £58m summer signing to be brought back into the starting XI for the semi-final second leg. After last night's performance and subsequent mutual show of affection, not many will be disagreeing with that idea.
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"I got my first touch and felt the defender wasn't too close so I just played my game. I didn't think too much," Isak said when asked about his assist. "It was incredible. We scored and I lost it a bit and jumped over [into the stands].
"It's incredible the way they [the away fans] make us feel like we play at home. The noise, which you can still hear now, it felt like we were playing at home. Credit to them for creating that type of atmosphere."
Howe has been reluctant to rush Isak back after the summer addition struggled overcome a recent thigh problem which kept him sidelined for a number of months. The 23-year-old has had to settle for a spot on the bench of late but last night's contribution and the winner he scored at Fulham mean it may not be long before he is back in from the outset.
"He hasn't had a lot of training time," Howe told reporters before the semi-final first leg. "We've had a lot of games and between those you can't train the players to the intensity you want.
"We've exposed him to the games, but at some stage he will need that training load to get to his very best levels."
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