Newcastle revived their bid to finish in the Premier League’s top four with a win over Wolves at St James’ Park.
Substitute Miguel Almiron scored the winner with 12 minutes remaining as the Magpies ended a run of three consecutive defeats in all competitions to leapfrog Liverpool into fifth on goal difference and four points behind fourth-placed Tottenham. moved in, who have played two more games.
Hwang Hee-chan, another substitute, equalized for Wolves’ second in the first half after coming on to cancel out Alexander Isak’s superb header.
Wolves were second for large periods but will be aggrieved that they were not awarded a penalty, and Nick Pope was not sent off, when Newcastle goalkeeper Isaac pulled down Raul Jimenez six minutes before Isak’s opener. Seemingly done, referee Andy Medley waved his hand away. Their appeals
Pope was then penalized several times for denying Julen Lopetegui, who finished 13th and missed the chance to move six points clear of the relegation zone.
Newcastle end losing run
Speaking ahead of the game, Eddie Howe said he hoped for a “spark or individual moment” to get his Newcastle side’s banner season back on track and that came courtesy of top scorer Almiron. , whose fine individual season continued with his 11th goal of the season.
It was Newcastle’s first win in six games in all competitions and their first home win in the Premier League since a 1-0 victory over Fulham in mid-January.
“The first half performance in general was very good,” Howe told JEE News after the game. “Alexander Isak scored a big goal for us.
“Wolves came back into the game, but the character shown by the group to go again and get the winning goal is a great feeling for us.”
After a quiet start, their opener arrived when Kieran Trippier’s dangerous free-kick met Isak, who cleared his marker and buried a powerful header into the corner.
It sparked Newcastle into life and they went close to a second goal when Bruno Gomaris hit the bar with a close-range header after Dan Byrne had helped Trippier’s corner back into the six-yard box.
Trippier was guilty of a defensive error that allowed Wolves to equalize in the second half when he slipped and collided with Pope as he attempted a clearance, the ball falling to the feet of Huang, who after coming onto Pope An open trap tapped in seconds. Pitch
After Elmiron restored Newcastle’s lead, Sven Boatman came close to a third in stoppage time when he headed wide from six yards after some brilliant interplay between the Paraguayan and Guimaraes.
Wolves regret non-penalty call.
Although Newcastle deserved their win, Wolves will feel the decisive moment of the match went against them when it was still goalless.
Pope miscontrolled a backpass that was intercepted by Jimenez and the Mexico striker was body-checked by the England goalkeeper as he tried to run onto the ball.
Referee Medley, who was far away, waved off his appeals and the video assistant referee did not ask the official to take a second look at the monitor.
“For me, we should have had a penalty. We are very unlucky with the referee,” Lopetegui told JEE News.
“In the second half, we improved a lot. We changed a lot of things and were able to get them.
“It’s a pity we didn’t have a change after scoring the goal. We lost against a very good team.”
Despite going into the game as the Premier League’s lowest scorers, Wolves created a number of good chances, with Daniel Podens hitting the post with a low drive shortly before the break, while Pedro Neto and Joao Moutinho pulled off a great stop from Pope before Hwang’s equaliser. .
But the defeat, combined with results elsewhere at the weekend, has allowed Wolves to close the gap on bottom teams in what has become an unlikely relegation battle, with just five points off the bottom. Nine have been separated.
This makes Wolves’ next two matches, against fellow strugglers Leeds and Nottingham Forest, crucial as they look to secure a fifth successive season in the top flight.
