**Newcastle United left it late to grab the win against Fulham at St James' Park on Saturday afternoon despite having the lion's share of chances.**
Eddie Howe's team dominated much of the game against Fulham on Saturday, but couldn't convert their dominance into goals - a familiar story this season.
The Magpies lost their way after the break and Fulham capitalised by bagging an equaliser to cancel out Jacob Murphy's 18th-minute opener.
Sasa Lukic reacted quickest after Raul Jimenez's shot cannoned off the crossbar, nodding the ball over the line, but clashing heads with Sven Botman in the process.
> [](https://twitter.com/CraigHope_DM/status/1982129392126931173)
Sven Botman avoided a concussion after his clash of heads with Sasa Lukic
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
While Lukic got bandaged up and carried on, Newcastle's £35 million defender received treatment in the goalmouth for several minutes before he was withdrawn and replaced by the king of head injuries himself, Fabian Schar.
It looked like a worry for Eddie Howe, especially with concussion protocols forcing a player out of action for six days, which would have seen Botman miss Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie against Tottenham.
Thankfully, as confirmed by Craig Hope after the game, Botman did not suffer a concussion and, as such, should be fine to play against Spurs on Wednesday night.
We are in love with the Malick Thiaw and Sven Botman partnership
----------------------------------------------------------------
Sven Botman has formed a solid partnership with summer arrival Malick Thiaw, who was absolutely outstanding yesterday, by the way, and it would be a shame to have to separate them.
We knew that Botman and Thaiw would be the eventual replacements for Schar and Dan Burn, but we didn't expect them to stake their claim this early.
Dan Burn is going to have a hard time getting his spot back when Tino Livramento and/or Lewis Hall return to fitness, and that's through no fault of his own, much like how Schar has been relegated to the bench lately. It just shows the strength we have at the back these days.