United target maximum 12 to guarantee top-flight spot

After that incredible effort from inside his own half against Sheffield Wednesday, Jonjo Shelvey attempted the audacious again.

Straight from a corner, Shelvey spotted Green was off his line and almost whipped the ball directly into the net - only for the Leeds stopper to recover well and claw it clear.

From the half-hour mark onwards Newcastle were dominant – but a firsthalf goal just would not arrive for the home side. Yoan Gouffran struck the inside of the post, Chancel Mbemba’s header forced an excellent save from Green and Ayoze Perez’s goalbound shot was blocked inside the six-yard box too.

Kalvin Phillips somehow escaped a booking for a cynical foul on Perez, then moments later Jansson clearly and deliberately handled the ball.

Originally, a booking was not going forthcoming until Benitez and the players appealed passionately to referee Christopher Kavanagh.

The inconsistency in officiating at this level remains a source of deep frustration for Newcastle.

It looked as if Perez was about to feed Aleksandar Mitrovic clear in behind the Leeds defence midway through the second half - only for Kyle Bartley to check the Serb’s run and knock him flying to the ground off the ball.

There were some cries for a red card, and it was certainly cynical, but there was no guarantee the Newcastle forward would have collected possession.

Huddersfield Town were awarded a contentious spot-kick in West Yorkshire but there was no such luck for the Magpies.

A Matt Ritchie corner was headed on by Lascelles and Mbemba tried to reach it on the stretch.

The centre-back was most certainly being held back but no penalty was awarded by Kavanagh.

With 16 minutes left, Perez had a glorious opportunity to strengthen Newcastle’s grip on the game.

The Spaniard acrobatically threw himself towards the ball, directed it goalwards, only for Green to expertly direct it over the bar from point-blank range. NEWCASTLE United players have set themselves a target of 12 points from the last four games to ensure there will be no late-season heartache at St James’ Park.

Many fans felt automatic promotion would be sealed by this stage of the campaign.

Yet Huddersfield Town are still in with a slim chance of catching the Magpies with David Wagner’s side having five games to play.

However, the maximum points tally Huddersfield can achieve is 92 points while the Magpies can still clock up 97.

After Newcastle collapsed late in the game against Leeds, Isaac Hayden offered some dressingroom insight.

He said: “We played much better than we have done in the last few weeks, which is definitely encouraging,.

“It was deflating to lose the goal like we did. That is football and we will look back at the replays and see where we can do better.

“I thought we were unlucky, especially with a few decisions whch did not go our way.

“It seems to be a recurring thing with us. That is just the way it is and we have to focus on ourselves and make sure in the last four games we get maximum points.”

As the dust settles on the Leeds game there was a notable improvement in terms of performance.

The crowd clearly responded. “I thought the fans were amazing,” added Hayden.

“They were with us every step of the way.

“When they were pushing in the first half they really made us feel the energy of the crowd and that transferred itself on to the pitch.

“I thought we were better than we have been in recent weeks.

“We created a lot of chances against Leeds.

“If we are being a bit critical of ourselves we should have killed the game off with the chances we had.

“However, it was not to be. Monday is now a massive game and we have to make sure we recover and are mentally right for that one.” Newcastle United’s Isaac Hayden