Did he mean it? Doesn’t matter. Regardless of whether Sandro Tonali intended his tight angle strike to actually find the net or not (it could have easily been a mishit cross), Newcastle ended a celebratory few days on Tyneside by securing a huge three points at home to Brentford on Wednesday night.
It wasn’t easy, though, and rather worryingly, Alexander Isak and Kieran Trippier exited with what Howe later revealed to be groin problems. Fingers crossed the substitutions were purely precautionary, and Newcastle will not have to navigate further injury woes as we enter the final stretch of the Premier League season.
Elsewhere, the Town Moor on Saturday became the site of a black and white carnival as supporters came together to celebrate the club’s first major trophy in 70 years. This included cameos from Ant and Dec, a swearing Bruno and a magnificent drone show courtesy of sponsors Sela to cap a perfect day of Geordie Pandamonium.
As always, I’m Sam and welcome to this week’s edition of the Toon Review!
**Sandro seals it for the Magpies**
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Even if he didn’t mean it, Tonali’s bizarre second-half goal proved to be crucial for a Newcastle side still on a high after Saturday’s city-centre festivities. Brentford are a very solid outfit, so they were always somehow going to cause one or two headaches for Howe’s side. Their electric attacking trio of Kevin Schade, Yoan Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo did indeed find ways to impact the game on a chilly night at St James’.
The Magpies began the first half with a flurry of early opportunities. Alexander Isak headed just wide and Joelinton flashed a shot just passed the far post. Fabian Schär’s long range effort deflected off Isak and very nearly found the back of the net. United would soon have the ball past Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken, but it would be ruled out as offside, as Isak’s dinked ball found the head of Harvey Barnes in an illegal position. The game remained goalless, but not for long.
The combination of Jacob Murphy and Isak came to the fore once again as the winger’s perfectly weighted cross found the right foot of the Swede to give United a deserved lead right on the stroke of half-time. For the second consecutive Premier League season, Alexander the Great has netted 20 league goals.
Not much else happened until midway through the second period when Wissa was tripped by Pope. Referee Peter Bankes awarded the Bees a penalty and a way back into the match. Mbeumo duly slotted home the spot-kick. 1-1.
Then, ten minutes later, Tonali somehow hammered the ball into the roof of Flekken’s net, with the visiting goalkeeper completely caught off-guard, along with 50,000 others within the ground. Sandro would later admit after the match that it was “70% cross, 30% shot”, but it did not matter. It was a goal. Newcastle would see out a nervy final fifteen minutes to take all three points and continue their quest for Champions League football next term.
**What Howe Said**
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**“Brentford are always a very difficult team. I thought we did really well tonight to navigate a difficult game.”**
**On Tonali’s goal:** “It was a massive goal for us. We needed it in that moment because we’d sort of lost control. It was a bit of fortune really because you don’t normally expect to score from that angle.”
**On Isak’s goal:** “It was good timing for us. I thought we deserved it in the first half. We were knocking on the door consistently and had some really good moments.”
**On Isak’s and Trippier’s substitutions:** “He wasn’t feeling 100%. I think his groin was causing him a little bit of discomfort. We hope he’ll be fine. Kieran felt his groin a bit as well. We hope it’s not serious.”
“I thought it was a massive game for us in our Premier League season. We didn’t want the players to lose focus and their will to win, so we’re really pleased with that win tonight.”
**The Rumour Mill**
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**Collete Roche**, the Manchester United Chief Operating Officer, has emerged as one of the candidates for the role of Chief Executive at Newcastle. **(Telegraph)**
Newcastle look set for a pre-season tour across **South Korea** and **Singapore** in July **(The i)**
The Magpies remain interested in a summer deal for Burnley goalkeeper **James Trafford**. **(Sky Sports)**
Liverpool’s **Jarell Quansah** is of interest to Newcastle, but the Reds do not want to sell. **(Athletic)**
Newcastle, along with Manchester United and Liverpool, are showing interest in Como’s 19-year-old Senegal winger **Assane Diao**. **(Caught Offside)**
**On This Day…**
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On 3rd April 2004, Sir Bobby’s Newcastle welcomed Everton to a sold-out St James’ Park, where the Magpies would eventually run out 4-2 winners.
Forward Craig Bellamy opened the scoring with an early goal after just five minutes before Everton’s Thomas Graveson equalised less than ten minutes later. Strikes from Kieron Dyer and Alan Shearer followed before Joseph Yobo pulled another one back for the visitors. Shearer would complete his brace and put the result beyond doubt in the 90th minute.
I’d also like to wish a very happy birthday to former United shot-stopper Tim Krul, who turns 37 today. Gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag, Tim!
**What’s Next?**
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**Leicester City (A)**
Next up for Howe’s side is a Monday night trip to the East Midlands to take on a struggling Leicester City side.
Three points for the Magpies is expected but, as is commonplace in the Premier League, Newcastle must guard against complacency as the last thing they want to do is slip up against a far weaker foe.
**Toon Trivia**
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Well done to those of you who correctly answered last week’s trivia question. Eddie Howe became the first United boss since **Joe Harvey** to win domestic silverware, with the latter lifting the UEFA Cup with the Magpies in 1969.
With a duel against Leicester on the horizon, **what was the score the last time the two sides met at the King Power?** You’ll have to cast your minds back to a couple of years ago, with the Foxes being in the Championship last season…
That’s all for now! HWTL.