Newcastle United vs Fulham. Premier League.
St James' Park, NewcastleAttendance52,247.
Report and free highlights as Alexander Isak grabbed Newcastle a late 1-0 victory against Fulham; defeat difficult for visitors to take after Aleksandar Mitrovic's converted penalty was ruled out because of an illegal double touch; win sees Newcastle up to third; Fulham stay sixth
Sunday 15 January 2023 18:59, UK
Substitute Alexander Isak grabbed Newcastle a late 1-0 victory against Fulham after Aleksandar Mitrovic's converted second-half penalty was ruled out after the striker made contact with the ball twice.
Isak popped up in the 89th minute to head home from close range to break Fulham hearts and spark wild celebrations from the St James' Park crowd.
However, it could have been so different for Fulham, who will find defeat difficult to take. They were awarded a 68th-minute penalty following a lengthy VAR review after Kieran Trippier's challenge on Bobby Decordova-Reid just inside the penalty area.
Mitrovic dispatched the spot-kick past Nick Pope, but he did so illegally having slipped and made contact with the ball twice, so referee Robert Jones disallowed the goal.
It proved a return to Newcastle to forget for Mitrovic as Fulham, who stay sixth, saw their five-game unbeaten run in all competitions come to an end. But it could prove to be a crucial win for Newcastle, who were heading for a third straight 0-0 draw in the league, as they move back into third ahead of Manchester United on goal difference.
Fulham started in confident fashion with the ball, showing they were not going to be intimidated by the St James' Park atmosphere. They were also alert at the back and Issa Diop got across to make a superb last-ditch block to deny Sean Longstaff a shot on goal.
Newcastle grew into the game and started creating opportunities as Tripper's cross picked out Callum Wilson, but the striker's header was straight at Bernd Leno.
There were concerns for Newcastle as Bruno Guimaraes appeared to roll his ankle in a challenge with Joao Palhinha. The Brazilian tried to run the knock off but appeared hampered for the rest of the half.
Newcastle continued to push forward in search of the opener, but Fulham held firm as Leno twice kept out strikes from Wilson, but there were still concerns for Guimaraes, who left the field in tears after the half-time whistle sounded.
Guimaraes did not appear for the second half, and he was replaced by Allan Saint-Maximin as Newcastle went in search of victory.
However, Wilson headed wide from a Trippier corner before Fabian Schar's powerful free-kick hit the upright.
Those missed chances looked like they would prove to be costly after Fulham won a penalty midway through the second half for a foul by Trippier on Decordova-Reid, following a long VAR review.
However, Mitrovic slipped as he struck the spot-kick and the former Newcastle striker hit the ball against his standing foot before finding the net. The goal was correctly ruled out because he had struck the ball twice.
It’s bang unlucky!
It looked like Newcastle would have to settle for a third successive Premier League goalless draw, but Isak arrived right on cue to head home the 89th-minute winner.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe to Sky Sports:
"Certainly a crazy second half. A lot happened in it."
On the penalty: "I thought the first challenge could have been a penalty. That wasn't given. The second one I didn't think was but was bizarrely given. The double touch I couldn't see, but I was really pleased to see it go that way.
"These moments can sometimes do that [galvanise you]. Something happens, a flash point, we didn't concede. The crowd were really good for us from that moment on.
"The goal was a special moment. So pleased for Alex. You want to hit the ground running at a new club and he did before the injury. He had to wait and watch the team do well in his absence. He's worked hard. For these moments the work was worth it.
On Bruno Guimaraes' injury: "Bruno was very distressed. He was in a lot of pain. He twisted his ankle and felt he could run it off. In the end he needed to be withdrawn."
Fulham boss Marco Silva insists Dan Burn should have been shown a red card for his challenge on Andreas Pereira in the penalty area. Just before Fulham were given a penalty for Trippier's foul on Decordova-Reid, Pereira danced into the box past Burn, who did appear to leave an arm on him. The Fulham man went down, but nothing was given. VAR took a look but didn't intervene.
Silva, speaking to Sky Sports, said:
"So many things to say about the ref's performance. But first I will say that I am really proud of the players and my team. We had ambition, quality, desire and showed why we are doing so well this season.
"I have to say Newcastle's physicality and quality is really good. From the first minutes, we demonstrated our quality. We did not have enough time to prepare well after we had a tough, tough game 60 hours ago. Newcastle were much fresher than us. We never lost our organisation. We showed always that we were very compact as a block. Unlucky afternoon for us.
"The referee. It is a clear penalty, red card for the player and the game would be completely different. The fourth official gave it but the referee made his decision. On Andreas Pereira, it was clear that it was a red card. The red card would have made it completely different, with 10 men. I felt it from the first minute unfortunately.
"Credit to Newcastle, they are a really strong side as well. We missed a penalty and we should have attacked more. Credit to them for not giving us more chances. We knew that we could not press for the full 90 minutes. We were very unlucky this afternoon. Very unlucky the way we lost this game. It went against us."
Signing of the season? He is certainly in the shake-up. The Dutchman has been such a dominant figure since his £35m move from Lille. In his last 12 Premier League appearances, Newcastle have kept eight clean sheets and shipped just four goals. Of course, it's no one-man job back there and yet again he was ably supported by Fabian Schar and Dan Burn. However, Botman can boast an unbeaten run for Newcastle (W10, D7) of 17 games - it's the longest unbeaten start by a Newcastle player in Premier League history. He has got it all.
Four of Fulham's seven Premier League defeats this season have come to goals conceded in the final five minutes of games, including each of their last three defeats in the league. This is twice as many winning goals conceded in the final five minutes as any other side in the 2022-23 competition.
Aleksandar Mitrovic has failed to score three of his six Premier League penalties this season; no player has ever missed more in a single campaign in the competition.
Newcastle have 38 points from 19 games in the Premier League this season (W10 D8 L1); it is their most at the halfway mark of a season in the competition since 2001-02 (39), when they finished fourth.
Alexander Isak has scored in three of his four Premier League appearances, although despite this, this was the first time he has won a match in the competition (W1 D2 L1).
Newcastle's next game is a Premier League clash at Crystal Palace on Saturday, live on Sky Sports - kick-off 5.30pm.
Fuham's next outing is a Premier League London derby at home to Tottenham on Monday Night Football on January 23, live on Sky Sports - kick-off 8pm.
