A seccond-half penalty from Callum Wilson earned Newcastle United a 1-0 victory over Brentford on Sunday, ending a three-game Premier League losing streak.
The England striker, who this week signed a one-year contract extension at the club, scored his third goal of the season in what was his first start to earn the Magpies a second victory.
It was a much-needed three points after successive defeats against Manchester City, Liverpool, and Brighton, coming just three days before they take on AC Milan at the San Siro in their Champions League group-stage opener.
Wilson finished confidently from the spot after 64 minutes not long after he had been harshly denied a goal for a supposed foul on Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken.
The penalty was awarded after Flekken's needless challenge on Anthony Gordon and Wilson made no mistake, much to the relief of what had been a slightly nervy St James' Park crowd.
“Pressure is for tyres,” said the 31-year-old. “For me, practice in training and on a match day you've done it so many times and it's just repetition, stay composed and that's what I did.
“It [the win] was massive. The break probably came at a good time for us, we were on a run of defeats and needed back to winning ways. The break got us to regroup, we worked on a few things we had to improve. We had to win ugly and three points were the most important today.”
On his disallowed goal, Wilson added: “Obviously I jumped up with the goalkeeper, challenging as you do. I think they get a little bit too much protection from the goalkeepers. At corners, they're pushing you but if you touch them back it's a foul.”
As for Brentford, it was a vast improvement on last year's 5-1 battering at the same ground and the away side came away unhappy with the penalty call.
“We could have taken something away from here so it's a tough one to take,” said Christian Noorgard.
“We had big chances in the second half where we could have gone in front, before they got their soft penalty.
“I heard the referee say 'not for me, not for me' so maybe the assistant gave it. I just think in a game like this it is not the right decision.
“It's frustrating of course, you come here as the underdogs and this small decision turns it. It's a tough one to take.”
For all their impressive defensive organisation, Brentford were less dangerous going forward and rarely troubled Nick Pope in the Newcastle goal. Their best chance to score came in the opening few minutes, when Aaron Hickey's shot was blocked by Pope.
“There was a lot of relief in our emotions at the end,” said Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, whose team face Serie A giants Milan on Tuesday night.
“It wasn't a fantastic performance from us but it was a determined one, a gritty one. It was one that wanted to show our response from the Brighton performance.
“I think we've seen that, a clean sheet, a massive three points, and now we can move forward.”
In the gallery above you can see the player ratings from Saturday's game. To move on to the next photo click on the arrows or swipe if using a mobile device.
