Despite scoring four goals in 11 first-half minutes, there was a sense of unease around St James’ Park in the second half before Newcastle United finally saw out victory against Nottingham Forest.
Eddie Howe’s side fell behind early on to a great finish from Callum Hudson-Odoi, who took advantage of a calamitous throw-in and Jacob Murphy error, but then came a quick-fire first-half turnaround.
First, 18-year-old Lewis Miley drew Newcastle level on 23 minutes before Murphy made amends for his earlier error two minutes later. Then Alexander Isak brought up 50 Premier League goals with a risky penalty and a deflected finish to complete a remarkable turnaround in 11 minutes. The second-half trepidation from the home support came as Nikola Milenkovic made it 4-2 with half an hour to go before a late Ryan Yates goal made it 4-3 with minutes remaining.
Here, Chris Waugh and George Caulkin break down an entertaining comeback win at St James’ Park.
Where does this leave Newcastle?
Newcastle needed this. They needed a counterpoint to last weekend’s vapid defeat at Manchester City. After successive losses to Bournemouth and Fulham, they needed to show that St James’ Park could still be a stronghold. They needed to take advantage of some poor results from the teams around then. They needed a win and they needed to hold on to it.
By and large, they got what they needed.
Not everything was what they wanted. Their early concession was dreadful, Hudson-Odoi catching Murphy in possession and then catching Nick Pope out of position, and the second half became unnecessarily nervous and unconvincing when Forest got a second. The ending was tough to watch.
Yet in front of Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the club’s chairman, who was making a rare appearance on Tyneside to discuss club strategy — including big-picture subjects like the future of the stadium and training ground — Eddie Howe got the “big response,” he demanded from his players, lifting them back into fifth in the table.
Against Nottingham Forest, one of their leading rivals for Champions League football next season, Newcastle showed their Carabao Cup final next month need not be a distraction. They found some positive momentum ahead of Wednesday’s visit to Anfield and a Wembley warm-up against Liverpool in the Premier League.
It was also far from perfect, but after years of mediocrity, Newcastle are once again playing big games for high stakes and, in that context, winning ugly is OK. They clung on and they needed that most of all.
George Caulkin
An incredible 11-minute turnaround
When momentum shifts at St James’ Park, it can really swing dramatically.
Murphy’s mistake and Hudson-Odoi’s sixth-minute opener had stunned the crowd and the stadium was left eerily quiet. Newcastle as a team, meanwhile, averaged around 80 per cent possession during the first 20 minutes and while they managed to get into dangerous positions and created regular openings, their final ball was lacking.
A moment of inspiration was required to drag Newcastle level, given their lack of ingenuity in the final third, and it came via an 18-year-old. Running left across the area, away from goal, Miley hit a low shot back across Matz Sels and into the bottom-right corner.
Miley draws Newcastle level (Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images)
Then, once Newcastle scored, the dynamic altered substantially in the home side’s direction. Until the interval, at least.
From four successive shots, between the 23rd and 34th minutes, Newcastle scored four times — and that clinical 11-minute spell includes the two-minutes-plus taken to award a penalty following a VAR review.
There was a hint of fortune about three of them — Murillo deflected Murphy’s goal and also Isak’s second out of Sels’ reach, VAR intervened to award the spot kick, and the penalty itself was almost saved (see below) — but Newcastle’s rapid attacks repeatedly dissected a normally resolute Forest side. For Isak’s second in particular, Newcastle went from Pope all the way up the left flank, via Joe Willock, before Isak’s shot deflected over the keeper.
In the context of Newcastle’s season, that 11-minute period could yet be campaign-defining.
Chris Waugh
Where does Isak rank with Premier League greats (risky penalties included)?
Isak’s penalty began with one of those stuttering, start-stop run-ups, intended to confuse the goalkeeper and make him commit (mission accomplished) but which, on this occasion, appeared to affect his own technique.
The kick was like a wedge shot in golf; soft and lofted and it almost allowed Sels time to recover. Almost. Instead, Sels rose and stumbled and flapped the ball into the roof of the net, marking another low point at St James’ for the former Newcastle goalkeeper.
This was in the 33rd minute. Within one more, Newcastle were tearing down the left, Willock was passing inside and Isak was allowing the ball to run beyond him before shooting. This time, his shot took a big deflection off Murillo.
The eyes see it, the statistics prove it and the evidence is overwhelming: Isak is very good. Having a bit of luck certainly helps, but the best centre-forwards make goalscoring look inevitable and that is his level.
Isak’s 21st goal in all competitions this season was also his 50th in the Premier League. Only six men have got there quicker than in Isak’s 76 appearances. And there are some great names among them.
Alexander Isak is now the seventh-fastest player to reach 50 Premier League goals! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/qOwfwznL2c
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) February 23, 2025
George Caulkin
What did Eddie Howe say?
Speaking after the match, Howe said: “Crazy game. We’ve seen the best of us and the worst of us, really, in two 45 minutes. I thought we were outstanding in that first half. Everything that we weren’t against Manchester City in our last game. Dynamic, fluid, played with speed, intensity. We sprinted, we attacked really well. But we didn’t sustain it in the second half. We lost momentum and then couldn’t recapture it.
“You want to be the best version of yourselves consistently. But the game is the best game for me, the best sport, for a reason. Because of the drama, because of the ability for teams to come back. And now the challenge that we need to pose each other really as a group is to find solutions in those moments to help the players. That’s what I’ll go away now and try and figure out. It’s happened too many times this season where we’ve been inconsistent game to game, but we’ve been inconsistent in-game as well.
“Ultimately, we won the game, so I have to be very, very pleased. That was a tough game. We knew it was going to be. I thought the players were magnificent in their response to conceding. So loads of good stuff to take away and, of course, some stuff to improve.”
What next for Newcastle?
Wednesday, February 26: Liverpool (away), Premier League, 8.15pm GMT, 3.15pm ET
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(Top photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
