Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes scored a thrilling late winner, extending Fulham’s losing streak at St. James’ Park.
Newcastle appeared to be doomed to split the spoils against Fulham, who were suffering from injuries.
But in the 90th minute, Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno could only parry replacement William Osula’s shot into the path of Guimaraes, who took full opportunity to score from close range.
Fulham had earlier rallied from behind, with midfielder Sasa Lukic’s header cancelling out Jacob Murphy’s opener.
Fulham substitutes Kevin sent an enticing cross to Raul Jimenez, who hit the crossbar with a first-time volley, with the ball bouncing inside the box and Lukic arriving before Sven Botman.
However, Newcastle pushed for a winner, and the hosts were rewarded late on to add to their Champions League victory against Benfica in midweek.
Fulham, on the other hand, has now lost four consecutive games.
Newcastle definitely started with the intention of doing so, hitting the woodwork twice through Nick Woltemade and Murphy, and it didn’t take long for the winger to put his team ahead with his first goal of the season.
However, instead of establishing control, the hosts continuously threw the ball away and failed to score the important second goal, allowing Fulham to re-enter the game.
Newcastle appeared to be in need of inspiration until Howe resorted to his bench, and substitutes Anthony Elanga and Osula played important roles in Guimaraes’ victory.
Woltemade has been a key player for Howe’s side in the Premier League, scoring four of his team’s last five goals.
However, despite the fact that Woltemade did not score, the hosts found a way to win. Just.
Last season, after falling behind at St. James’ Park, Fulham rallied to win the game in the second half.
However, there was no repetition on Saturday. This time, the visitors were the recipients of a late winner.
Marco Silva will be encouraged by his team’s response to falling behind, especially on an afternoon when they were missing several players, including defenders Antonee Robinson and Joachim Andersen, summer signing Samuel Chukwueze, midfielder Harry Wilson, and striker Rodrigo Muniz.
Fulham may have collapsed after Murphy took advantage of defender Calvin Bassey’s sloppy play to put Newcastle ahead.
But Silva’s side regrouped and, critically, posed a danger after failing to record a shot on target against Arsenal the previous time out.
The game against Wolves at Craven Cottage next week will be the true test for this team. Even at this early juncture in the campaign, that appears to be a big fixture.
