Newcastle United vs Fulham. Premier League.
St James' Park, NewcastleAttendance52,055.
Report and free match highlights as Newcastle beat 10-player Fulham; Raul Jimenez sent off for reckless challenge on Sean Longstaff; Newcastle's Fabian Schar and Joelinton pick up first-half injuries; Lewis Miley scores early in second half before Miguel Almiron and Dan Burn strikes
Saturday 16 December 2023 18:44, UK
Lewis Miley, 17, netted his first goal for Newcastle to become the club's youngest Premier League scorer and help them to a 3-0 victory over 10-player Fulham, who saw striker Raul Jimenez sent off early on.
Fulham were brought back down to reality following consecutive 5-0 wins after Jimenez was shown a straight red card for jumping into Sean Longstaff in the 22nd minute.
Newcastle went closest to scoring when Anthony Gordon hit the crossbar but the depleted hosts were dealt two more injury blows in the first half, seeing Fabian Schar and Joelinton forced off with muscle strains.
But substitute Miley opened the scoring with a well-taken finish 10 minutes into the second half which led to Miguel Almiron and Dan Burn also finding the net to give Newcastle their seventh consecutive home league win.
Newcastle's injury-hit squad was tested further when Schar pulled up in the 11th minute with a hamstring injury, but Fulham had bigger problems after Jimenez jumped into the head of Longstaff. The striker was initially shown a yellow card although soon saw red when referee Sam Barrott was sent to the pitchside monitor.
Gordon struck the underside of the crossbar as Newcastle pushed for the opener but the visitors still threatened on the counter-attack, seeing Alex Iwobi denied by Martin Dubravka.
Joelinton was then forced off through injury and replaced by Miley, who opened the scoring in the 56th minute after a wave of Newcastle pressure. The teenager fired across Bernd Leno and into the bottom left corner.
Almiron soon made it two to wrap up the game with only 63 minutes played. Gordon slipped a pass through Callum Wilson, who was just onside, only to be bundled over by Antonee Robinson, but the ball ran kindly for Almiron to slot in.
Burn added the third in the 81st minute, bundling home after his initial header from Bruno Guimaraes' cross had been saved. Sven Botman came on to a big cheer, earning his first minutes in three months following injury, before Wilson hit a post in added time.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe on Lewis Miley: "His all-round performances have been so good and he's created a couple of goals with some really good passes in the final third. It's good to see him rewarded with a goal for himself. He's an incredible talent, he's started his Newcastle career in a great way."
On Schar and Joelinton injuries: "It's difficult to say. I don't know what to say about it. That's where we did really well to keep our composure and not dwell on those situations. Hopefully they're not too bad."
Newcastle's Lewis Miley on his first goal: "What a moment it was for me and my family. They were in the stand. Great feeling to see the ball in the back of the net. Hopefully I can score lots more.
"I haven't checked my phone yet but I'm sure everyone will be buzzing for us."
Bruno Guimaraes added: "Sometimes I can't believe he's 17. He's unbelievable. We're very proud of him."
Fulham manager Marco Silva: "Until the 21st minute of the game, we didn't have one foul. All the tackles and challenges on the pitch, for us, were to keep going and, for Newcastle, were always free-kicks. Really strange. The pressure on the game with a not experienced referee was difficult for him. He was not capable of handling the pressure, in my opinion, from a game like this one at St James' Park.
"Two minutes before the red card, something that can make a big influence in the game, is the elbow from (Jamal) Lascelles on Raul (Jimenez). The VAR wants to stop the game to turn over the decision from the referee when he decided to give a yellow card for Raul and support him with the same images, not different images. The same VAR two minutes before didn't see the elbow.
"How can we understand these types of decisions from someone in an office with all the images to decide? This is what I don't understand. After that moment the game became much more difficult for us. I have to give credit to our players for the way they handled the pressure, the way they kept organised in the first half. That showed we are in a very good moment."
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There is no rest for Newcastle as they face Chelsea on Tuesday night in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals live on Sky Sports. Kick-off 8pm. They then travel to Luton on Saturday December 23. Kick-off 3pm.
Fulham are also in action in the quarter-finals, taking on Everton on Tuesday. Kick-off 7.45pm.
