ALEXANDER ISAK’S FIRST goal of the season handed Newcastle a priceless 2-1 Premier League victory over Tottenham on an eventful afternoon at St James’ Park.
The Sweden international struck 13 minutes from time to settle a pulsating encounter which the visitors dominated for long periods but were unable to convert the pressure into goals.
Keeper Nick Pope, who was partially to blame for the Dan Burn own goal which cancelled put Harvey Barnes’ opener, atoned which a series of fine saves and was also grateful for the intervention of his crossbar and some less than accurate finishing.
But Eddie Howe’s men, watched by chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan among a crowd of 52,211, many of them still questioning a relative lack of summer transfer activity, were once again far from their best despite the return to league football of Italy international Sandro Tonali as a second-half substitute following a 10-month ban.
It was the hosts who went ahead eight minutes before the break when Burn took a quick throw to Lloyd Kelly and saw the full-back cross for Harvey Barnes to steer the ball first time across Guglielmo Vicario and inside the far post.
It took a well-timed challenge by Radu Dragusin to prevent Isak from making the most of Tino Livramento’s ball in behind the visitors’ rearguard two minutes after the restart, but Spurs continued to enjoy the lion’s share of the possession.
Nick Pope was beaten with 56 minutes gone when he could only push James Maddison’s shot out to half-time substitute Brennan Johnson, who turned it back across goal for Burn to turn the ball into his own net in a desperate attempt to clear the danger.
Tonali arrived as a 68th-minute replacement for Sean Longstaff, but Wilson Odobert failed to capitalise on an error by Burn as Tottenham sniffed victory and Bruno Guimaraes only just managed to stab another Johnson cross wide of his own goal.
Pope saved brilliantly from Maddison and Pedr o Porro in quick succession and Johnson shot wastefully over, and they paid the price with 13 minutes remaining when Jacob Murphy broke clear on to Joelinton’s through-ball and timed his pass to perfection to allow Isak to score.
Elsewhere, Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace as Eberechi Eze’s excellent second-half strike earned Oliver Glasner’s side their first Premier League point of the season at Stamford Bridge.
Fresh from scraping through their Conference League qualifier and being paired with Shamrock Rovers, Enzo Maresca saw his team dominate Palace in the first half as he sought back-to-back league wins.
There appeared to be a smooth path to victory when Nicolas Jackson tucked away Cole Palmer’s pass midway through the first half to hand the hosts the lead their football warranted.
Chances to add to their tally came and went and so it was against the run of play when Eze delicately curled Palace level early in the second period, placing the ball masterfully out of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez’s reach to stun home fans in west London.
