It wasn’t pretty, but Saturday’s 1-0 win at Fulham felt so precious in our push for European football.
Below I pick out some of the main positives and negatives we can take back to Tyneside from Craven Cottage.
Positives
Gaining on European rivals – We have to take care of our own business first, which we did, but this victory allowed us to extend our lead over Wolves and Brighton – who both lost over the weekend – and keep pace with West Ham after their 2-1 win at Molineux. We’re now just one point from Man Utd in sixth ahead of their clash with Liverpool today and moved four clear of Chelsea; who travel to Sheffield United for the 5.30pm kick-off.
Rare clean sheet on the road – Believe it or not, this was the first time we’ve kept a clean sheet in a Premier League away game since that 8-0 hammering of Sheffield United in September last year. We made an awful start, but we managed to see it out after a sluggish first half. Dan Burn looks much better at centre-back and comfortable alongside Fabian Schar. A confidence boost for both, along with Martin Dubravka – who was beaten three times in our last away game – teenage left-back Lewis Hall and third choice right-back Emil Krafth.
Bruno Guimaraes – His match-winning goal, his second half display, him kissing the badge in front of a packed out away end and him telling the media “I hope to stay much longer” when asked about his future after the game. What a character, what a player and what a job he’s done to avoid that 10th yellow card. Avoid a yellow in next weekend’s clash with Spurs an he’ll avoid a two-match ban!
Impact subs – Our midfield looked better for Elliot Anderson’s introduction and Harvey Barnes brought a greater threat after replacing Jacob Murphy. On Tuesday we had so few options on the bench, but Anderson and Barnes helped us over the line in this one and deserve a run in the side. Hopefully both can make an impact over the final seven games of the season…
Source link : https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2024/04/07/4-positives-4-negatives-from-newcastles-1-0-win-at-fulham/
Author : Olly Hawkins
Publish date : 2024-04-07 12:59:29
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