Dan Burn makes ‘lucky’ Newcastle United claim & names five team-mates who shone v Brentford

Newcastle conceded two first half penalties – one was saved by Nick Pope and the other was scored by Ivan Toney as Brentford led 1-0 at the break. Toney also saw an early strike disallowed by VAR.

But The Magpies turned things around in the second half following the half-time introduction of Callum Wilson and Anthony Gordon by head coach Eddie Howe. A David Raya own goal and an emphatic edge of the box strike from Alexander Isak saw Newcastle come from behind to claim a 2-1 win at the Brentford Community Stadium.

“Huge [win],” Burn said at full-time. “First half, we were poor. It’s been a tough week physically and mentally but we made a few adjustments at half time and we were brilliant in the second half. It shows the character we’ve got in the team. We’re delighted with the three points.

“Brentford are a good team and asked a lot of questions. We knew what they were going to do so there weren’t any surprises and they haven’t been beaten at home since September. It was always going to be tough but I thought we weathered the storm pretty well.”

The match saw three key VAR decisions made as both teams had a goal ruled out while Brentford were awarded a penalty following a VAR intervention concerning a clash between Isak and Brentford’s Rico Henry.

When asked if he’d been involved in a game with so many potential game-changing VAR decisions, Burn smirked: “I don’t think so! They put the ball in the box that much so it was always going to be like that. The second penalty was pretty soft to be fair but we reacted well.

"In slow-mo, you could blow up for a free kick in any challenge as there’s always contact. They normally even themselves out over the course of a season anyway.”

Despite a difficult first-half, Newcastle were able to dust themselves off and come out firing in the second half. Within 15 minutes of the restart, they had turned the game around and led 2-1.

"We were lucky it was still just the one [at half-time],” Burn told The Gazette. “Credit to the gaffer, he changed it and we put a lot more pressure on them and took our chances.

"Two good goals - really happy for Joey [Joelinton]. I thought he was amazing. He was all over the pitch. Alex has shown his quality with his finishing.

“When Cal and Anthony came on, it really changed the game. I thought Cal and Alex played really well.”

Burn also praised Magpies goalkeeper Pope for his penalty save and several other big stops during the match.

“He’s a top keeper, Popey,” Burn added. “I don’t think much knocks him. He came out there at the end, cleared one and blocked the cross so that’s the risk that he takes when he comes out but he’s always good for us as that last line of defence and yeah, he’s been a really big player this season.

"It’s huge for us and helps as we do keep a high line and yeah it’s a risk but more often than not he gets it right.”