An 89th minute Alexander Isak winner helped Newcastle United to seal a crucial 1-0 win against in-form Fulham.
The battle of the two unlikely top six teams seemed to be heading towards a stalemate, as The Cottagers did well to resist significant pressure from the hosts over the course of the 90 minutes.
They could have even taken an unlikely lead midway through the second half. Aleksandar Mitrovic's torrid spot-kick record continued, as the forward slipped the moment before he executed his team's penalty. This led to him touching the ball twice, before the ball ended up in the back of Nick Pope's net, ruling the goal out.
To make matters worse, Isak's eventual late winner meant that Fulham's stubborn performance led to no reward. The substitute was left with an easy header into an empty net, following a pass from Callum Wilson.
The result moves Newcastle back up to third place in the table - level on points with Manchester United. Fulham remain in sixth.
Story of the match
A positive midweek result ensured that there were no changes to Eddie Howe's Newcastle team.
However, an equally impressive win for Fulham last time out did not lead to the same stability within Marco Silva's side. Mitrovic – suspended for Fulham’s win against Chelsea – came back into their 11, as did Issa Diop and Layvin Kurzawa. Carlos Vinicius, Tosin Adarabioyo and the suspended Antonee Robinson dropped out.
A fairly serene start to the afternoon kick-off saw very little action during the opening ten minutes. It was at that point, when the returning Mitrovic showed good strength to outmuscle a Newcastle defender and get a left-footed effort at goal away – a shot which was well blocked, before it could trouble Nick Pope.
Eventually, Newcastle were able to start to impose themselves on the contest. Diop did well to block a potentially dangerous shot on goal from Wilson.
A few minutes later, a header from the forward floated comfortably into the hands of Bernd Leno, as the possession figures began to strongly turn in favour of the hosts.
Some further pressure was built, as a lovely first touch from Joe Willock sent him away down the left side. The midfielder’s resulting low cross into the box was not met by any of his oncoming teammates, but the ball ran through to Miguel Almiron, whose effort was deflected for a corner.
It seemed as if Newcastle themselves could halt their own building momentum, as both Joelinton and Pope went down with injuries, following that positive spell for the hosts. Fortunately, both recovered and were able to continue their involvement in the contest.
With the clock ticking closer and closer towards half-time, Wilson had another sight of goal. After excellently controlling a pass from Fabian Schar, the forward fired an effort heading towards the roof of the goal, forcing a save from Leno.
A well worked corner routine almost provided the hosts with a clear chance to take the lead; an aware bit of defending from Kenny Tete averted the threat.
Three minutes of added time produced what was the best chance of the game, up until that point. A brilliant turn from Wilson completely fooled a Fulham defender and earned himself an uncontested effort at goal, from just inside of the visitors’ box. The very active England international was unable to get enough power and accuracy on his attempted precise finish – leaving Leno with a comfortable stop to make.
Howe would have been more and more pleased with his team's performance, as that first half went on. An injury to Bruno Guimaraes forced Newcastle's star man to be replaced during the break by Allan Saint-Maximin.
Joelinton moved back into the middle of the pitch, to make room for the exciting winger. Newcastle carried over their dominant finish to the first half, into the start of the second.
The positivity and fluidity of play which Fulham were able to show within the opening moments of the game had long gone. For the first 15 minutes of the second half, Silva's men were camped in their own half. They were, however, doing a fairly effective job of limiting the amount of chances at goal for the hosts.
A smart touch from Joelinton invited a rash challenge from Tim Ream - earning the American centre-back a booking and Kieran Trippier a chance to blast a free-kick at goal, from a fantastic position. Instead, to the surprise of everyone, it was Schar who rushed to take the the set-piece - firing his effort against Leno's near post.
Soon after, a rare Fulham foray forward led to what seemed like two fouls which may have warranted a potential penalty for the visitors. Following an on-field VAR review, referee Robert Jones deemed Trippier's instigated contact with Bobby Decordova-Reid to be worthy of the spot-kick he awarded.
Mitrovic, after missing two penalties for Fulham already this season, ended up slipping as he approached to take the spot-kick. This led to him making contact with the ball twice, before it hit the back of Pope's net and a resulting free-kick for Newcastle.
That chaotic incident did little to change the general momentum of the game. Newcastle continued to dominate possession, but any kind of chances were rare to come.
The introduction of Isak - moving Newcastle to a two striker system - and Fulham's subsequent introduction of Adarabioyo, in the place of Willian, effectively signalled the intention of both teams, as time was running out.
Just as it seemed that Fulham would be able to escape St. James' Park with what would have been a very hard-earned point, Newcastle's persistent pressure and patience finally paid off.
A cross from Longstaff was met by Wilson at the back post. The number nine's lofted pass across goal left his partner, Isak, with an easy header into an empty net.
As such, in the 89th minute, Howe's team took the lead in dramatic fashion and ensured their winless Premier League run did not extend to three games.
They were able to see out the five minutes of added time, going back level on points with Manchester United, in third place of the table.
Player of the match - Fabian Schar
This Newcastle defence is functioning fantastically under Howe. From their seven post-World Cup fixtures, they have managed to keep six clean sheets.
Schar - a crucial part of Newcastle's backline - put in another reliable performance, limiting Fulham to very few sights of Pope's goal.
With his free-kick striking the post, the centre-back was unfortunate to not get his name on the scoresheet, as well.