Newcastle making Europe would be one of Eddie Howe’s biggest achievements yet
Newcastle’s push for the top six might even surpass last year’s extraordinary highs after a smash-and-grab victory over Fulham
April 6, 2024 5:15 pm(Updated 6:12 pm)
Fulham 0-1 Newcastle (Guimaraes 80’)
CRAVEN COTTAGE – In the final minutes of Newcastle’s 1-0 victory at Fulham, a stadium announcement warned supporters not to follow the Inglethorpe Street route home due to a tree being struck down in the middle of the road.
Eddie Howe must wonder if his side have not been the victims of some force majeure themselves as Joe Willock and Lewis Hall joined his growing injury list and Martin Dubravka spent much of the first half clutching his knee (Fulham fans, it is worth noting, were unconvinced).
If Howe succeeds in getting this batch of the walking wounded into Europe, it should count as one of his biggest achievements on Tyneside yet. That is quite the claim for for a manager who has already reached a cup final and qualified for the Champions League ahead of schedule, but the scale of the battle in the final weeks of the season was laid bare here.
After the Barnes-storming victory over West Ham and a late setback against Everton in midweek, the Magpies would have been grateful for a quiet afternoon by the Thames. Instead they were reliant on a late goal from Bruno Guimaraes, making his 100th appearance for the club, as the Brazilian tore into the box to secure three vital points in the race for Europe.
That came just minutes after Fabian Schar’s finish at the near post had been disallowed for Dan Burn pressing an arm into Calvin Bassey as he went up for the header, another sure sign that nothing ever comes easy for Newcastle this season.
In fact there are moments when it is hard not to wonder if missing out on Europe would not be such a bad thing.
Newcastle are within touching distance of Manchester United in sixth and West Ham in seventh but they are still bearing some of the scars of the increased burden of this year’s continental adventures. Though they did not get beyond the group stage in the Champions League, finishing bottom, the prospect of an even longer sojourn into the Europa League is a worrying one.
The only real upside to Newcastle’s ever deepening injury crisis is that it is giving opportunities to the likes of Elliott Anderson, whom some fans have been crying out to see more of and whose deft flick was instrumental in the build-up to the winning goal. Had Dubravka not been able to continue, though, there would have been no such consolation in goal, with Nick Pope still out and only Loris Karius and Mark Gillespie on the bench.
Even if Newcastle are to qualify for European competition next year – most likely the Conference League as it stands – summer activity will be restricted by Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and they will have to operate on a player trading basis rather than spending freely. Some of their absentees, Jamaal Lascelles and Sven Botman, will not be back for the start of the 2024-25 season.
They did well to weather a storm having taken until the 34th minute to even register an attempt and being dominated for large periods by a spritely young winger called (err… checks notes) Willian.
Gordon made chances from nothing and was unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet. Fulham were much improved from their humbling at Nottingham Forest and their shipping of three goals against Sheffield United – so Newcastle’s triumph should not be underestimated. While Fulham wreaked havoc for an hour, Howe’s back line stood firm with huge numbers behind the ball.
It felt something of a smash-and-grab but he will have no complaints about that given the circumstances.
