Gouffran wraps it up as Magpies go clear at top
NEWCASTLE claimed a seventh straight league win, but this was a timely reminder that not every match will be a cakewalk on the way to promotion.
Two up at half- time and seemingly cruising against a team just outside the bottom three, most of another 50,000plus crowd would have been expecting a goal-fest.
Instead they were made to sweat all the way as Neil Warnock’s battlers turned it into a Championship scrap.
The victory took Rafa Benitez’s team eight points clear of third place, but he was left to reflect on a match that was harder than it should have been.
“It was a typical Championship game,” the Spaniard mused.
“We had chances to kill it off, but we didn’t, and we gave them some hope. Then they started with long throws, long balls, and free kicks.
“I was not very happy because we had to defend too much. But when the referee allows too much contact, you can’t complain too much and you have to be prepared for this in the future.”
Benitez had the enviable luxury of leaving the Championship’s top scorer, Dwight Gayle, on the bench, despite the
striker being fit again. His replacement, Aleksandar Mitrovic, had banged in four goals in two games in his absence, and here he turned provider as the home side quickly went in front.
Mitrovic played a one-two with Ayoze Perez and could have shot himself, but he took out two defenders and squared it to Christian Atsu, whose finish went in off a post.
There was almost a second after another fine move as Perez slipped in a charging Paul Dummett and it needed a fine save from Ben Amos.
Jonjo Shelvey exchanged passes with Perez at the resulting corner and his shot was heading for the top corner, but for a last ditch header from Sol Bamba.
Despite the one- way traffic, there was almost an equaliser as Craig Noone beat the offside trap and struck a sweet volley which flashed past the far post.
But just as the Bluebirds thought they could get in at half- time still in the game, they were opened up.
DeAndre Yedlin came infield and slipped in a killer pass for Gouffran, who got away from his marker and found the far corner.
The game should really have been put beyond the visitors but first Atsu, and then Mitrovic spurned glorious chances to make it three.
At the other end, Noone was put through on the break and saw his shot beat Karl Darlow, but clip a post.
Warnock threw on all of his three substitutes and two of them combined to give his side a lifeline from a long throw from Iceland captain Aron Gunnarsson.
Marouane Chamakh appeared to use his arm to control it but from his lay-off, Peter Whittingham drove it low and hard past Darlow.
It set up a nervy last few minutes and Warnock was convinced his side should have been awarded a penalty and a chance to grab a point when he felt Sean Morrison was pulled to the ground by Mitrovic.
He said: “He mauls him down. At Championship level, referees should know better about the type of pulling we are talking about.”