IT’S TYNE TO PARTY!
44 Magpies on the up as Dasilva red card leaves Bees on their knees
TOM HOPKINSON
By at the Brentford Community Stadium NEWCASTLE fans can forget Eddie Howe’s claims the relegation battle will go to the wire because the only scrap their side will find themselves in come May will be the one for a top-10 finish.
The Geordies made it four wins in five Premier League outings thanks to goals from Joelinton and Joe Willock.
And such is the momentum Howe’s men are carrying, it’s hard to see them being anywhere near the drop zone come the end of March, let alone the end of the season.
Much credit for that must go to those who oversaw the club’s recruitment drive in January and to Howe for the way he has integrated his new signings so quickly.
And to the players themselves, with Matt Targett, in particular, very good at left-back.
His arrival has seemingly reawakened Ryan Fraser, who was also excellent.
Newcastle’s climb up the table is also being assisted by yesterday’s hosts Brentford and Leeds, two teams whose own momentum is fast moving them in the opposite direction.
This was Brentford’s seventh defeat in eight Premier League games and, as Thomas Frank’s side get sucked into the relegation fight, the only saving grace for them might be the fact Leeds are plummeting harder than they are.
The Bees actually started well and looked bright for 10 minutes.
But Josh Dasilva’s sending-off meant the extra body made all
the difference for the visitors.
Dasilva will probably argue he was just trying to protect himself in a challenge from Targett.
Frank said: “It was a completely random situation that unfortunately is giving Josh a red card. I understand with VAR and the perception of it why it’s given, but everyone who knows and understands football knows he has tried to get in front of the ball and put his foot down.
“It’s not a situation where he is flying in.
“There’s contact but I don’t understand how that can be a three-game ban.”
But once referee Mike Dean was advised to pay a visit to his monitor by VAR Darren England, the Brentford star was always going to be in trouble with his over-the-ball challenge slowed down.
Dasilva’s teammates took the fight to Newcastle for a few more minutes, but Howe’s men knew their hosts were there for the taking and they took them with Fraser instrumental in that.
David Raya saved well from Chris Wood’s header but there was little the keeper could do minutes later when Fraser, after linking with Targett, stood up a good cross and Joelinton timed his run perfectly to power home his header. The Bees were under pressure, although it was on the counter that Newcastle doubled their lead when Fabian Schar took down Fraser’s hoofed clearance on the halfway line and then released Willock to provide a resounding finish.
Howe said: “I’m really, really pleased with our response to the red card.
“It doesn’t guarantee you anything, it just gives you a different solution to fix.
“We knew we’d have a lot of the ball then and it was about our ability to break them down.”
In terms of the relegation scrap, he added: “It’s going to go right to the wire for those teams involved and obviously we don’t want to be.
“We have to remain very focused and not get carried
away with our recent success.”
The one big positive for Brentford was the introduction of Christian Eriksen, returning to the game after his cardiac arrest during Denmark’s Euro 2020 clash with Finland.
Frank said: “For everyone involved in football it was a big moment.”