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Newcastle United travelled to Craven Cottage hoping to bounce back from their late draw against Everton on Tuesday night in a match the Magpies led for over 70 minutes before having to share the spoils. Craven Cottage has been a fairly happy hunting ground for the Magpies in recent times and they had already tasted victory on this ground this season.
However, it was the hosts who had the better of the opening stages and saw early efforts from Willian and Joao Palhinha go narrowly wide. The Magpies gradually got themselves into the contest but failed to test Bernd Leno in the opening half-an-hour with Martin Dubravka much the busier goalkeeper.
Two efforts from Anthony Gordon went wide of the post but Newcastle never really looked like scoring for the majority of the half. A poor first-half showing was compounded when Joe Willock limped off injured after 40 minutes to be replaced by Elliot Anderson.
Here are our first-half ratings from Newcastle United’s clash with Fulham at Craven Cottage:
5. Lewis Hall - 6
Had a tough battle against Alex Iwobi and then was tasked with keeping Adama Traore quiet for the last half an hour or so. Struggled at times with the pace of his opposite number. | Getty Images
6. Sean Longstaff - 6
Put in a good block to deny Willian early on. Was booked just five minutes into the second half after fouling Robinson. An understated but solid performance. | Getty Images
7. Bruno Guimaraes - 7
Started the game very quietly. Didn’t really influence proceedings at all in the first 45. Took his goal brilliantly with a wonderful finish and grew into the game. | Getty Images
8. Joe Willock - 5
Had little impact on the game in the first 25 minutes or so. Went down with a leg injury in the 40th minute and was replaced by Elliot Anderson. | Getty Images