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Ciaran Kelly

Joelinton got what he dreamed of at full-time as Eddie Howe makes pledge until Newcastle exit

Joelinton's team-mates were on their way back to the dressing room, but the entranced Brazilian did not even appear to notice that he was the last man standing at full-time following Newcastle United's 2-0 win against Brentford.

"He's Brazilian. He only cost £40 million. We think he's f------ brilliant. It's Joe-lin-ton," the away end boomed as the midfielder stood in front of the 1,700 Newcastle fans who made the journey to the capital.

This was an unimaginable scene not so long ago when the struggling Joelinton did not even have a fixed position - let alone his own chant.

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However, perhaps, no player has epitomised Newcastle's turnaround under Eddie Howe quite like the club's record signing, who has been reborn as an all-action midfielder after a testing couple of years at the club.

Before the game, Howe told Joelinton and his team-mates they were the 'hunters' as they looked to leapfrog Brentford in the table, and the visitors duly did just that on Saturday, moving four points clear of the relegation zone in the process.

Josh Dasilva's red card changed the game in the 11th minute but, crucially, Newcastle took advantage as Joelinton and Joe Willock effectively sealed the win before half-time.

However, rather than getting carried away, Howe was staying calm post-match and stressed that his 'big search is for improvement in every area and it will be until the day' he leaves the club.

As heartened as Howe was by Newcastle's disciplined display, after Brentford went down to 10 men, the Magpies' boss could not help but lament his side's failure to add to their advantage after the break and how the visitors did not control the game more with the extra man. This was despite Newcastle having a whopping 26 shots and 63% possession, but such have been the high standards Howe and his staff have set.

Howe feels Newcastle still have a lot of work to do on the ball and the upcoming games against Brighton, Southampton, Chelsea and Everton are unlikely to be as straightforward as Saturday's clash in London after the visitors were handed an early advantage by Dasilva.

Newcastle United players celebrate at Brentford (PA)

Goalkeeper David Raya struggled to deal with Ryan Fraser's floated cross to the back post In the build-up to the incident and the ball fell to Jacob Murphy.

The winger's attempted cut back to the unmarked Jonjo Shelvey was snuffed out before Matt Targett and Dasilva raced to get to the loose ball on the edge of the area.

Neither player was backing out and Dasilva left Targett writhing on the turf after a horror challenge.

Mike Dean marched over to consult his pitchside monitor and the referee sent Dasilva off following a VAR check.

The game changed in an instant. Suddenly, the visitors had so much more of the ball as shell-shocked Brentford dropped off.

However, Howe's side stayed calm and stuck to their game plan by getting the ball wide and using overlaps and underlaps to stretch Brentford's narrow backline as Targett and Emil Krafth both got forward in support of Fraser and Jacob Murphy and put crosses into the box.

Shelvey's lofted ball sent Fraser racing clear down the left and the Scotland international's side-footed cross found the head of Chris Wood, who forced Raya into a fine save.

If that was a warning about the room Fraser was finding down the left, up against the exposed Kristoffer Ajer, Brentford did not heed it and the Bees were soon punished.

Following a short corner routine, Fraser played a smart one-two with Fabian Schar before swinging the ball into the box and there was Joelinton to rise above former Newcastle target Ajer and direct a powerful header past Raya in the 33rd minute.

It was Joelinton's first goal since the reverse fixture in November and the midfielder's first since his remarkable transformation in a deeper role.

Unsurprisingly, then, it meant a lot to the record signing, who roared as he sprinted the length of the field to celebrate in front of the away end.

Those Newcastle fans tucked away at the opposite end of the stadium were soon singing the Brazilian's chant on loop for five minutes.

Rather than being content to go into half-time 1-0 up, though, Newcastle immediately went in search of a killer second.

Fraser, Wood and Shelvey all had decent opportunities to double the Magpies' advantage before Joe Willock struck just before half-time.

Ethan Pinnock could not deal with Fraser's hacked clearance, which ended up proving a very useful punt forward, and Fabian Schar easily outmuscled the defender as he rampaged forward.

Schar coolly managed to slip a through ball into the path of Willock, who made no mistake with a confident finish into the roof of the net in the 44th minute.

It was Willock's second goal in as many games after previously failing to score all season and, just as he did at the London Stadium, the midfielder landed a sucker punch before the break.

It was as good as game over - and so it proved.

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