The match ends, and Newcastle holds on for the victory. Their attacking first-half performance, which brought that magnificent Almiron goal, gave way to a snatch-and-grab second-half in which Palace peppered Dubravka’s goal, but the Magpies stood tall to hold on for their sixth consecutive home win.
Starting lineup:
NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-3-3): Martin Dubravka;
Emil Krafth, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Matt Targett;
Bruno Guimaraes, Jonjo Shelvey, Joelinton;
Miguel Almiron, Chris Wood, Allan Saint-Maximin.
NEWCASTLE UNITED SUBS: Karl Darlow, Jamaal Lascelles, Matt Ritchie, Federico Fernandez, Javier Manquillo, Jacob Murphy, Joe Willock, Dwight Gayle, Sean Longstaff.
CRYSTAL PALACE (4-2-3-1): Vicente Guaita;
Nathaniel Clyne, Joachim Andersen, Marc Guehi, Tyrick Mitchell;
Cheikhou Kouyate, Jeffrey Schlupp; Michael Olise, Conor Gallagher, Wilfried Zaha;
Odsonne Edouard.
CRYSTAL PALACE SUBS: Jack Butland, Joel Ward, James Tomkins, Jordan Ayew, Eberechi Eze, Will Hughes, Jean-Philippe Mateta, James McArthur, Christian Benteke.
Goal:
What a strike!!! Guimaraes releases Almiron down the right, who gets around Mitchell, enters the box, and curls a tight-angled shot into the top corner!!! What a breakaway goal, and what a way for Newcastle to go 1-0 up.
United won it thanks to Miguel Almiron’s winner in the first half. Howe looked back on the game and said:
“It was a perfect first half. Then, with the ball and our intensity, it was up there with one of our best performances.
“In the second half Crystal Palace came back into it, but we defended very well. We’ve had a perfect shape. The players have developed a good mentality to defending, and I think we needed to because Palace played well.”
And when asked if it was a significant night for Newcastle overall, Howe said: “It’s a great night for the football club. You can forget how hard it’s been to get us into this position. We have to look back with great satisfaction. I say it every week, but this is a great place to play football. The overall atmosphere was brilliant to experience.”
So, what’s next?
That victory sees Newcastle leapfrog Palace move up to 11th in the table, and, in doing so, win six consecutive home matches for the first time since the era of the great Sir Bobby Robson.
Palace, meanwhile, dropped to 14th, but their second-half performance showed just how threatening they could be in pursuit of further points before the season ends.
