Neutrals did not enjoy the latest edition of Friday Night Football, but Newcastle United supporters won't have cared as they made their way out of St James' Park last night and sang 'E-I-E-I-E-I-O - Up the Premier League we go!' It is easy to see why; Chris Wood's penalty took the Magpies another step closer to safety following an edgy 1-0 victory against Wolves.
Wood, who had a goal disallowed in the first half, was the coolest man in the stadium on Friday night when he put his penalty straight down the middle to take the roof off St James' in the 72nd minute. Eyebrows were raised when Newcastle spent £25m on Wood last January, but this goal, and his previous header at Southampton, may yet prove priceless in securing the Magpies' Premier League status after Eddie Howe's side moved 10 points clear of the relegation zone. While Wood needs to score more goals, and doubts remain about his long-term prospects as a starter at the club, the 30-year-old's contributions on and off the ball could end up being worth a whole lot more than the hefty fee Newcastle paid for him.
This was not a vintage team performance, of course, but Newcastle did the basics well in the kind of niggly game the black-and-whites might have even lost not so long ago. There were a few nervy moments late on - Martin Dubravka made a brilliant save to keep out Fabio Silva's effort - but, crucially, the Magpies managed to hang on to secure a precious three points.
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Newcastle are now just three points off Crystal Palace in ninth place and, rather than resting on his laurels, Howe told his players they still had 'work to do' this season after the game. That will be a mentality shared by man of the match Bruno Guimaraes, who looked a cut above on his first ever start at St James'.
When Howe spoke of there being 'a different Newcastle' in the future, in terms of style, the Newcastle head coach will have had the Brazil international very much in mind. Bruno's all-round numbers on Friday night told their own story: the influential midfielder completed 90% of his passes; won 12 duels; drew five fouls; reclaimed possession on seven occasions; and completed more tackles than any other player (four).
Howe was keen to bring in proven Premier League experience last January but Bruno, tellingly, was the sole exception. So are there other Brunos out there that Newcastle could attract from abroad this summer?
"I think there will be other Brunos," he told reporters after the game. "That's a good way of putting it. But we'll endeavour.
"When the time is right, I'll speak about that. It's not for now. That's other people's jobs at the football club to try and identify players. Mine is to coach the team and try and keep us in the league, so I'll concentrate on that for now."
Friday's result was the perfect response following last week's capitulation at Spurs when Newcastle not only failed to stay in front or take anything from the game but, also, let it get away from them. The players saw the other side of the Newcastle head coach in the aftermath of that 5-1 mauling and Howe, himself, acknowledged that he had 'changed the way I've dealt with the players or certain situations because I didn't like what I saw in the second half'.
Players and staff were understandably desperate to put that capitulation right. Even Emil Krafth, who did not play at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, turned the air blue and admitted 'everyone was p-----'. Clearly, there were more than just points at stake as these players played for their futures.
Given how there are just 43 days to go between now and the end of the season, some of these players are running out of time to prove they can play a part in this new era. Therefore, the visit of eighth-placed Wolves felt like another acid test as Newcastle looked to beat a side currently in the top half for the first time this season.
It was not going to be easy. Only Liverpool have picked up more points than Wolves this calendar year while only Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal have won more games in the Premier League this season.
However, it can be easy to forget that this was the same group of players at Newcastle who embarked on a nine-game unbeaten run in the Premier League not so long ago and they did not necessarily throw in the towel at Spurs as had been the case with previous hammerings in a previous era. Perhaps, then, it was not a surprise that Howe gave the majority of these players the chance to make amends.
Indeed, the Newcastle head coach only made two changes as Krafth replaced Javier Manquillo and Bruno came in for the injured Joe Willock. Bruno has had to be patient for his big chance at home, but the Brazil international insisted he was 'ready' to start in what was Newcastle's first Friday night game since the takeover was completed.
This was actually a fitting game to roughly coincide with the sixth-month anniversary of the takeover. Following the reverse fixture last October, which ended up proving the final game of the Ashley era, it was hard to see a way forward for winless Newcastle and the atmosphere was understandably flat in the away end following a 2-1 defeat at Molineux.
In contrast, it was another sell-out at St James' on Friday and Wor Flags, who only returned to the stadium after Ashley sold the club, set the tone for what was to come with another stunning pre-match display as all four corners of the stadium were covered with flags. Even part-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi and special guest Majed Al Sorour, the chief executive of the Saudi Golf Federation and a close friend of chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, picked one up.
Howe wanted the feeling in the ground to reflect how this was a 'massive game' and for the atmosphere to be 'intense', and the Newcastle head coach got his wish in the opening stages. Newcastle looked to feed off that energy as the Magpies pressed high up the pitch, but Wolves appeared relatively content for the hosts to have the ball early on as Bruno Lage's side stood off and forced Howe's team to go sideways.
Both teams struggled to find their rhythm and Newcastle were further disrupted when Ryan Fraser had to come off with an injury in the 12th minute. Miguel Almiron replaced Fraser and it was the substitute who had the first chance of the game as the Paraguay international fired over after Fabian Schar picked him out with a clever ball over the top in the 21st minute.
Just a few minutes later, Newcastle thought they had taken the lead. Krafth seized on Max Kilman's pass and fed Bruno, who played a clever one-two with Almiron before teeing up Chris Wood. New Zealand's record goalscorer managed to hook the ball into the net despite being knocked over in the build-up and wheeled away to celebrate. However, a VAR check found that Bruno had been offside in the build-up so Wood's close-range effort was disallowed.
That was as close as either side came to breaking the deadlock in what was a turgid first half of few chances. In fact, neither Newcastle nor Wolves even managed a shot on target. The second half could only get better, surely?
Well, Newcastle soon created what would be classed a decent opening in a game as flat as this. Schar's floated free-kick was flicked on by Wood in the 52nd minute and Dan Burn managed to get a shot away but Jose Sa held the ball comfortably.
The game was on a knife edge and, with both sides playing with such a lack of intensity, you felt a single goal could settle it. Given how passive Wolves were, it said a lot that Newcastle looked the likelier to get that opening goal.
There were 64 minutes on the clock when Almiron found the impressive Bruno down the right and the midfielder's low cross picked out Saint-Maximin, who lashed his shot over the bar. It looked like it was going to be one of those nights for Saint-Maximin, but the Gallowgate quickly lifted the Magpies' talisman as they sung his name.
A buoyed Saint-Maximin soon played a part in the game's decisive moment in the 72nd minute as the Frenchman's backheel released Joelinton and the midfielder then slid the ball through for Wood, who was felled by Sa. Referee Peter Bankes pointed to the spot and, although a lengthy VAR check followed, the decision stood and Wood fired Newcastle ahead with his first goal for the club at St James'. This time, it counted.
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