Newcastle United fans will love what Anthony Gordon did at Everton as Alexander Isak ‘robbed’ – moments missed

A ‘European’ night preview for Newcastle United

The importance of Thursday night’s fixture for Everton was palpable hours before kick-off as supporters gathered along Goodison Road. Blue smoke peppered the April evening air as the Evertonian’s made their voices heard as the team coach made its way, very slowly, into the ground.

Two months ago, Newcastle fans gathered in Trafalgar Square ahead of the Carabao Cup final and Thursday night had a similar – albeit smaller and more cramped – feel to it as Everton prepared for a ‘cup final’ of their own.

While The Toffees battle for Premier League survival, Newcastle’s battle is at the right end of the table for once. And it's one United are most certainly winning as they prepare to dust off their passports for the seemingly inevitable prospect of European football next season.

While it wasn’t exactly Rotterdam or Rome, Liverpool offered a small preview of what the return of European nights could bring for Newcastle. The hostile atmosphere, smoke bombs, fans surrounding the team coach and the impromptu pre-match firework display around the stadium – the Everton fans certainly helped put on a show.

If only their players could do the same.

Kieran Trippier injury scare for Newcastle United

After a slow start to the game, Newcastle took the lead against the run of play as Callum Wilson reacted promptly to poke in after Jordan Pickford parried Joelinton’s initial shot.

Everton had translated the intensity created by supporters ahead of the match onto the pitch but just lacked the quality to break Newcastle open in the first 45 minutes. They thought they did when Dominic Calvert-Lewin dinked the ball over Nick Pope on the stroke of half-time only for a VAR check to rule the goal out for offside by the narrowest of margins.

Shortly before that, Magpies captain Kieran Trippier went down following a clash of knees with Everton full-back Vitalii Mykolenko. The 32-year-old remained on the ground for a number of minutes as Javier Manquillo was made to warm-up on the touchline.

It looked at one stage as though Trippier would have to go off but the timing of the knock meant he was able to get to half-time and recover.

The right-back was able to see out the match without any further issues though he admitted the initial blow was a ‘painful’ one.

Newcastle break ‘Saudi kit’ hoodoo

As good as Newcastle’s season has been in terms of results, they had yet to win in their green and white away kit going into the match at Goodison Park. When it became clear The Magpies would be wearing the kit which has been heavily criticised by opposition fans and the wider media for its striking similarities to the Saudi Arabia national team jersey, the more superstitious of us felt slightly less confident than before.

Before the trip to Everton, the away kit had seemingly been reserved for some of the lowest points in Newcastle’s otherwise impressive campaign.

In white and green, Newcastle had drawn away to Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League with the latter three all finishing goalless. In the FA Cup, Eddie Howe’s side suffered a 2-1 embarrassment to League One side Sheffield Wednesday in the third round while wearing the kit.

But they managed to buck the trend at Goodison Park as Joelinton made it 2-0 to Newcastle in the second half before Wilson curled in his 13th of the campaign with a delightful edge of the box finish. Dwight McNeil then pulled a goal back in somewhat bizarre fashion as his corner found its way into the back of Nick Pope’s net before Jacob Murphy restored the three goal advantage thanks to a mesmerising solo run from Alexander Isak to set it up.

Alexander Isak robbed

Alexander Isak grabbed arguably the assist of the season as he charged down the left wing, beating three individual players on more than one occasion, before making his way along the byline with impeccable skill and playing the ball across the face of goal to leave Jacob Murphy with a simple tap in.

Although Newcastle and any sane person watching the game credited Isak with the assist, the powers that be at the Premier League cruelly denied the 23-year-old as his pass deflected off Everton defender James Tarkowski before finding Murphy.

In response to the assist denial, Newcastle’s official Twitter account posted a GIF of Isak’s ‘puzzled’ celebration from Sunday’s 6-1 win over Spurs.

Anthony Gordon shows his true colours – and Newcastle United fans will love it

As expected, it was a hostile reception at Goodison Park for Anthony Gordon following his January departure from Everton to join Newcastle. The 22-year-old was booed every time his name was mentioned or whenever he touched the ball during his brief five-minute cameo at the end of the match.

Despite Gordon’s obvious Everton connections and the club being plunged further into relegation trouble, he made sure to enjoy Newcastle’s win that took them eight points inside the Champions League places with six games to go.

As the Newcastle players went over to thank the 3,000 travelling supporters at full-time, Gordon could clearly be seen singing ‘E I E I E I O up the Premier League we go’ along with the travelling Toon Army.

As the winger made his way back to the dressing room he passionately punched the air in delight (or perhaps relief) that his return to Goodison Park was very much a satisfying one.