Newcastle Utd brought the curtain down on a the 2023-24 season with a performance at the GTech Community Stadium that in so many ways reflected what supporters have witnessed since it started back in August with that fine win over Aston Villa on the opening day. From the highs of European nights under the lights to the lows conjured by injury and suspension that robbed Howe of key players for extended periods of the season, heads have rarely dropped either within the squad or in the stands as club and supporters have stood as one to come through whatever was thrown at them.
And Sunday was no exception. Producing some wonderful football orchestrated by the conductor that is Bruno Guimaraes and roared on by some 2,000 supporters who had made their way down to the capital in party mood, Newcastle looked nailed on for all three points as well as adding to their already rich goal difference as they roared into a 3:0 halftime lead through goals from Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak. And it could have been four, but for a glaring miss by the returning Joelinton, who was starting his first game since early January following surgery on his damaged thigh.
And all this came after narrowly avoiding going 1:0 down in only the second minute thanks to a VAR call that disappointed former magpie Ivan Toney, when his teammate Bryan Mbeumo was ruled offside in the build-up.
But Brentford had other ideas and within three minutes of the restart they pulled a goal back courtesy of Vitaly Janelt and when, in the 70th Minute the ever-dangerous Wissa out turned Dan Burn and fired a low curling shot past a despairing Nick Pope it looked like the inevitable Brentford comeback that their play deserved was very much on.
However, Brentford then conspired to hand the advantage back to the magpies when Mbeumo brought down Lewis Hall and the referee awarded a penalty, only to then downgrade it to a freekick, having deemed, through the persuasive eye of the video assistant referee that the initial foul occurred outside the box.
Isak took the free kick which h was saved by Flekken in the Brentford goal, but his parry only landed at the feet of Bruno Guimarães, and he calmly slotted the ball home to restore the two-goal advantage.
Newcastle saw out the remaining seven minutes plus the 11 minutes found by the referee to count as time added on for stoppages and in doing so sealed seventh place in the final premier league standings; denied sixth only by the 2:1 defeat inflicted on Bournemouth by a rejuvenated Chelsea.
In normal times seventh place should present Newcastle with a place in next season’s Europa Conference League but these are not normal times, and this has not been your normal season. So as the squad jetted out to fulfil a post season commitment in Australia the wait for confirmation of European football continues until the outcome of next weekends FA Cup final. A win for Manchester Utd would see them pip Chelsea to the Europa League spot and in doing so Chelsea will be awarded the Conference League berth provisionally handed to Newcastle; leaving the Magpies empty handed.
Speaking after the game Howe was asked to give his assessment of the season overall and where his squad finished the season, and he responded saying: "Is seventh a success? I think it is. I never judge it by league position. But looking behind that - the amount of goals we've scored this year tells you something. The amount we've conceded tells you something. The feeling in the group is so strong. There's a real bond between staff and players.
"When I look back on this season, I'll only have good memories. Some really challenging moments when we had to dig deep, but the players never let me down.
"I think it's been a season of progression; my feeling is we've grown stronger as a team. I couldn't be happier with where we are. But that has to continue”.
And Sunday was no exception. Producing some wonderful football orchestrated by the conductor that is Bruno Guimaraes and roared on by some 2,000 supporters who had made their way down to the capital in party mood, Newcastle looked nailed on for all three points as well as adding to their already rich goal difference as they roared into a 3:0 halftime lead through goals from Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak. And it could have been four, but for a glaring miss by the returning Joelinton, who was starting his first game since early January following surgery on his damaged thigh.
And all this came after narrowly avoiding going 1:0 down in only the second minute thanks to a VAR call that disappointed former magpie Ivan Toney, when his teammate Bryan Mbeumo was ruled offside in the build-up.
But Brentford had other ideas and within three minutes of the restart they pulled a goal back courtesy of Vitaly Janelt and when, in the 70th Minute the ever-dangerous Wissa out turned Dan Burn and fired a low curling shot past a despairing Nick Pope it looked like the inevitable Brentford comeback that their play deserved was very much on.
However, Brentford then conspired to hand the advantage back to the magpies when Mbeumo brought down Lewis Hall and the referee awarded a penalty, only to then downgrade it to a freekick, having deemed, through the persuasive eye of the video assistant referee that the initial foul occurred outside the box.
Isak took the free kick which h was saved by Flekken in the Brentford goal, but his parry only landed at the feet of Bruno Guimarães, and he calmly slotted the ball home to restore the two-goal advantage.
Newcastle saw out the remaining seven minutes plus the 11 minutes found by the referee to count as time added on for stoppages and in doing so sealed seventh place in the final premier league standings; denied sixth only by the 2:1 defeat inflicted on Bournemouth by a rejuvenated Chelsea.
In normal times seventh place should present Newcastle with a place in next season’s Europa Conference League but these are not normal times, and this has not been your normal season. So as the squad jetted out to fulfil a post season commitment in Australia the wait for confirmation of European football continues until the outcome of next weekends FA Cup final. A win for Manchester Utd would see them pip Chelsea to the Europa League spot and in doing so Chelsea will be awarded the Conference League berth provisionally handed to Newcastle; leaving the Magpies empty handed.
Speaking after the game Howe was asked to give his assessment of the season overall and where his squad finished the season, and he responded saying: "Is seventh a success? I think it is. I never judge it by league position. But looking behind that - the amount of goals we've scored this year tells you something. The amount we've conceded tells you something. The feeling in the group is so strong. There's a real bond between staff and players.
"When I look back on this season, I'll only have good memories. Some really challenging moments when we had to dig deep, but the players never let me down.
"I think it's been a season of progression; my feeling is we've grown stronger as a team. I couldn't be happier with where we are. But that has to continue”.