Is one point away from home ever a bad point? Fulham 1 Newcastle 1

In answer to the question above, the outcome at Craven Cottage definitely felt as if Newcastle United had dropped two rather than gained one, perhaps because we conceded a late equaliser.

Compared with May’s encounter, in what proved to be Eddie Howe’s final Premier League game as our head coach, the performance was much better, though still a long way below what I believe is possible.

Before kick-off I would have taken the draw. I said as much to a Fulham fan on the walk from Putney Bridge Tube station through Bishops Park. An American, she lives in Clapham and last season needed to choose a London club to support when her most recent serious relationship ended. No way would she continue to cheer for his team!

Her choice of Fulham was based partly on the club’s questionable claim to be the oldest in the capital. When I pointed out that in 147 years Fulham had never won a big trophy (domestic or European) she replied that she followed football for the fun, not the glory. An admirable attitude . . .

We shook hands and wished each other good luck at 2.30pm on the corner of the Riverside and Putney End stands. Another random conversation to add to the collection.

On the train up from Brighton I had quizzed an Arsenal fan, who was taking his two sons to The Emirates for the game against Hull.

What was his verdict on Bruno G? Why wasn’t our former captain a regular starter?

“We rotate nearly every match. Arteta picks him against teams who play a low block. I like Bruno because he’s always looking forward, trying to create. Lewis-Skelly is preferred in European games, which are more open. We also have Eze, who is probably 13th on the team sheet.”

A veritable wealth of riches for the title-winning manager.

Not that the Arsenal fan on the train had been confident last season, fearing the recent history of blowing their chances was likely to be repeated again.

Hadn’t Arsenal succeeded at last despite Arteta, rather than because of him, I suggested. The style of football was efficient rather than attractive. When we went to The Emirates in April, with Man City hot on Arsenal’s heels, the tension was palpable. An Eze cracker from a short corner routine saw them home that day. Another 1-0 to The Arsenal, just as they managed yesterday against Hull City.

How will they cope against Newcastle 2.0, when they meet at St James’ Park immediately after the international break?
If United play to their full potential, with Sean Steur making things tick in midfield and Lewis Hall surging up the wing after quelling attacks, anything is possible. We proved that in the 2024/25 season, when we beat them three times.

Possible but unlikely, because we no longer have Isak and Gordon to fire the bullets supplied by Bruno G. Neither do we have the oh-so-predictable leadership of Howe; predictable as in getting the better of Arteta with pleasing frequency.

We lacked that sort of firepower yesterday. William Osula ran relentlessly to little effect. Yoane Wissa rarely showed the same enthusiasm. The chemistry between them looked embryonic, being charitable. The link play between Amar Dedic and Jacob Murphy on the right flank, between Hall and Harvey Barnes on the left, was sporadic to nonexistent.

When the full-backs advanced, the wide attackers dropped back. That was an understandable response to conceding three goals at Everton, four at Coventry and four at Leeds since mid-September. One consequence was a lot of sideways and backward passing, to the travelling fans’ frustration.

Another consequence was the need for Murphy and Barnes to defend if Fulham regained possession, which they did reasonably well.

With Steur and Nico Gonzalez in the middle of the park, supplemented by their wider teammates, United looked less open.

Matthias Jaissle has been widely blamed for trying to succeed with a two-man midfield. Yesterday the two was often a four, thanks to Dedic and Hall stepping up while Murphy and Barnes stepped back.

Total football it was not. It was, however, more encouraging than a lot of what we have seen in the German’s first three months in charge.

Dan Burn defended solidly and strode forward more than once, trying to make things happen. Malick Thiaw blocked and intercepted impressively from first to last, though his passing was occasionally alarming.

In the interests of research I watched the Everton v Coventry televised game on Friday evening. The referee at the Hill Dickinson was the biggest Homer since Ancient Greece, denying the visitors two penalties and ignoring a handball in Everton’s second goal. VAR refused to get involved just as Howard Webb, head of Pro Ref, wants.

I feared more of the same at Craven Cottage. Rob Jones didn’t disappoint. He was biased with a capital B, favouring the hosts whenever there was an element of doubt and often when there wasn’t. Fouls on visiting players went unpunished, whereas strong challenges by United were often penalised.

The first half contained only a few glimpses of fluid passing from either team. Lukas Hornicek made a couple of spectacular saves, while Barnes forced Bernd Leno to kick away a clever flick from a low Murphy cross. The Fulham keeper also stopped a goal-bound Barnes shot, this time unwittingly with his forehead.

Burn finished smartly at the near post from the resultant corner but the referee deemed Wissa had fouled Timothy Castagne with the sort of routine holding that is usually ignored by the officials.

After the interval United looked more dangerous as they attacked the Putney End that housed the vociferous Toon Army. Barnes cracked a right-foot curler off the outside of the post with Leno nowhere, Wissa was maybe two feet short of a tap-in from another low cross and for a few minutes Fulham struggled to break out of their half.

The replacement of Gonzalez and Wissa by Lewis Miley and Joe Willock on 61 minutes added to the threat. Steur was always available and kept the ball moving in midfield but struggled to recover from a heavy tackle. He made way for Matias Fernandez-Pardo, whose pace immediately unsettled Fulham.

When Murphy seized on a loose pass about 40 yards out on our right flank, he jinked inside, set his sights and with his left boot bent a sizzling shot beyond Leno. Mayhem among the travelling fans!

The cheers and chants were still bouncing around the stadium three minutes later when the equaliser went in. It has been credited to Rodrigo Muniz. Having watched the goal six times on television replays, I reckon Hall kicked the ball onto the Brazilian before it deflected off the diving Burn and into the net past a wrong-footed Hornicek. Perhaps a trip to Specsavers is needed . . .

Neither team were happy to settle for a point. A rapid break down the left led to Hall finding space 12 yards out. Sadly for him and his team, the ball was on his weaker boot and Leno was able to save the low shot.

Fulham could have stolen all three points in stoppage time when Ryan Sessegnon smashed a 20-yarder to Hornicek’s left. The young keeper dived across and parried it to safety, capping what was probably his best game so far for United.

Photo by Colin via The Mag

One point gained or two dropped? I favour the latter verdict. We had the better chances in a tight game and should have taken three of them.

Newcastle are a work in progress. There’s plenty of room for improvement but there were enough signs yesterday to suggest we’re heading in the right direction.

Fulham 1 Newcastle United 1 – Saturday 7 November 2026 3pm

Match Stats

Goals:

Newcastle United:

80 Murphy

Fulham:

83 Muniz

Possession was Newcastle 42% Fulham 58%

Total shots were Newcastle 9 Fulham 11

Shots on target were Newcastle 5 Fulham 5

Corners were Newcastle 3 Fulham 3

Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 19 Fulham 27

Newcastle United team v Fulham:

Hornicek, Dedic, Thiaw (Schar 85), Burn, Hall, Gonzalez (Miley 61), Steur (Fernanez-Pardo 74), Barnes, Wissa (Willock 61), Murphy, Osula (Elanga 85)

Unused subs:

Pope, Livramento, Botman, Toure