NOT MATT FINISHED!
Newcastle...0 W Brom...1 Phillips keeps defiant Albion afloat
JOSE MORAIS’ Barnsley defied the form book to boost their hopes of avoiding relegation with a stunning win over promotion-chasing Brentford.
Kieffer Moore scored the opener in the 11th minute before Oliver McBurnie headed his ninth goal for the club six minutes after the break in what may well prove his last home appearance for the Tykes.
The result moved Barnsley out of the danger zone on goal difference and ended any slim hopes Brentford had of earning a play-off spot.
Barnsley took a shock early when Gary Gardner won the ball in his own box, broke to halfway and released Moore down the left-hand side.
The striker looked to cross with his weaker left foot but he watched the ball sail over David Bentley and go in off the frame of the goal.
Adam Hammill then registered his first assist of the season at a pivotal time as his deep corner found on-loan Swansea star McBurnie who hit the net.
Morais said: “I’m very proud of the team.
“We deserved more times than just the two times we won at home while I have been here.
“I am happy for the boys, happy for the club and happy for the fans because these players wanted to reward the fans with a win in our last game here.
“I know the effort they are putting in, the will they have and the quality they have.
“For some reason, in some moments, things just don’t come out. But I believed the seeds were there and one day they will come out – this was one of those days.”
Brentford boss Dean Smith said: “We were in total control for 15 minutes. They wandered into our half and scored a spawny goal with a deflected effort that’s hit the crossbar and gone in.
“You know when your luck is against you and that certainly shows you. I think it gave them a lift because it was the only time they’d been in our half, I think.
“For five minutes I thought they passed it a little bit and then we took over the game again in the first half. But our final ball or our decision making just let us down.”
BOTTOM club West Brom were staring relegation in the face but stubbornly refused to concede defeat in their fight to preserve Premier League status.
The battling Baggies knew that only a win would keep their slim survival hopes alive.
And winger Matt Phillips’ 29th-minute strike kept up caretaker boss Darren Moore’s remarkable unbeaten record since the departure of former Newcastle boss Alan Pardew following nine straight defeats.
Moore has now won eight points from his four games in charge but this was Newcastle’s first loss in nine home games in all competitions and there could yet be trouble for on-loan Leicester striker Islam Slimani, who appeared to kick out at defender Craig Dawson late in the game – with referee David Coote taking no action.
Dwight Gayle returned at the expense of Slimani who dropped to the bench after making his first start for the Geordies in Monday’s 1-0 defeat at Everton.
Gayle, who had already run off an early knock, went down again as if fouled before West Brom broke to create the first chance in the 12th minute.
Salomon Rondon released James McClean on the left but the former Sunderland winger – whose every touch was being booed – drove wide of the far post.
Jonjo Shelvey then found Gayle who forced the first save from keeper Ben Foster after the striker’s initial effort was blocked.
Albion’s anxiety soon surfaced when Phillips crossed from the right and Jay Rodriguez snatched at his shot, barely connecting. But Phillips showed him how it should be done moments later when he ran on to Jake Livermore’s ball on the right and powered his shot past keeper Martin Dubravka, who might have done better.
Newcastle ought to have hit back in the 34th minute when Kenedy played a one-two with Ayoze Perez, the Brazilian taking the return on his chest but clipping the base of the far upright with only Foster to beat.
Gayle, who was unmarked across goal, remonstrated furiously with the on-loan Chelsea winger.
As half-time approached, the woodwork intervened again to frustrate the home side. Mo Diame’s shot was deflected over and from Shelvey’s resultant corner, Florian Lejeune’s header was met by another from Gayle who was brilliantly denied by Foster.
Rodriguez then forced a near-post stop from Dubravka and was cursing his luck once more eight minutes into the second half when he miscued in front of goal after Phillips had knocked down McClean’s left-wing centre.
Rafa Benitez took off left-back Paul Dummett and switched Kenedy to the role to introduce winger Jacob Murphy but Newcastle escaped again when Rondon slashed wildly at a chance on the left of the box.
Both Slimani and fellow frontman Joselu joined the fray for the Magpies as they sought more punch and Dubravka 5; Yedlin 5, Lascelles 6, Lejeune
6, Dummett 5 (Murphy
(58th) 5); Diame 5, presence in attack. But when DeAndre Yedlin swung the ball in from the right, Joselu’s downward header was wide of the back post to condemn them to defeat.
Moore, who has as many points as Pardew managed in his 18 games, said: “I’m delighted with the result.
“It was another solid performance and another good result. I’m really proud.
“With Ben Foster pulling off a wonderful, world-class save, I thought we could have been a couple more goals up at half-time.’’
On his role, he admitted: “I’m enjoying it. The players and the staff have been really good and have worked really hard. I really haven’t thought about the job.
“We’ve just really come together as a club. There’s a wonderful trust and belief in the group and throughout the club.’’
Moore hailed Phillips and added: “He’s a wonderful player. When he got the chance, he took it very well.’’
Newcastle boss Benitez said: “It was the kind of game you don’t want to see from your team.
“We made too many mistakes, the wrong decisions all the time, and that is the reason we lost.
“Everything was wrong from the first minute. We tried to correct things at half-time, but in the second half we were playing too direct. It’s not that we were not trying. I think we were trying in the wrong way.’’
On the threat of retrospective punishment for Slimani – which would mean a three-match ban and the end of his time on Tyneside – he said: “Someone told me but during the game I couldn’t see anything, so we will see.
“At the moment I’m really upset with the result and we will analyse other things later.’’