Newcastle beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 at St James’ Park on Sunday, providing a boost to their top four hopes this season.
The three points moves the Magpies to within four points of Tottenham Hotspur, and the north east side have two games in hand on the north London club.
Alexander Isak opened the scoring with a first-half header before Hwang Hee-chan levelled the scores after Kieran Trippier slipped and gifted the visitors a goal.
But substitute Miguel Almiron was on hand to restore Newcastle’s lead nine minutes later.
And the advantage could have been doubled in extra time when Newcastle baited Wolves’ players into thinking that they were wasting time, before springing a smooth passing move on them.
With the game in the third minute of added time, Newcastle had won a corner on the right.
Most teams would use that opportunity to wind down the clock and it looked as if that was the home side’s plan, with Callum Wilson running out to let Almiron play a short pass.
Knowing that they needed to win possession, Wolves defenders ran out to crowd the Newcastle players, but the Geordie boys had other ideas.
After playing a short pass to Wilson, Almiron received the return in a pocket of space, before firing a pass into Bruno Guimaraes.
The Brazilian then produced a deft first-time flick back to Almiron, who proceeded to burst into the box.
He looked up to cut the ball back to defender Sven Botman, who was unmarked in the penalty area, but the centre-back failed to keep his shot down.
From on the back foot to on the attack in the blink of an eye. Sensational football from the men in black and white.
Fans React
Unsurprisingly, Newcastle fans took the opportunity to praise their side and challenge any other fan to call them boring.
Howe praises Newcastle’s character
Speaking after the game, Eddie Howe said that his side was impressive in their victory and that his players showed character to secure all three points.
“Our first-half performance was very, very good,” Howe told Sky Sports. “Alex [Isak] scored a massive goal for us. Second half, a one-goal lead is always delicate and it should have been more at half-time.
“Wolves, to be fair, came back into the game, we know they have very good players. But the character to get that winning goal is a good feeling for us.
“At 1-1 the game is in the balance, with our recent run that was a real test of character for us. But we had to regroup and we found another level.”
What next for Newcastle?
After recording their first victory in five matches, Howe’s side return to Premier League action on Friday when they travel south to face Nottingham Forest.
There is a real opportunity for Newcastle to record back-to-back victories, with Forest failing to win any of their last five matches.
