3 Positives and 3 Negatives to take from Newcastle 2 Fulham 1 | OneFootball

Saturday afternoon’s match ended Newcastle 2 Fulham 1.

Ahead of each match we ask one of our writers to come up with three positives and three negatives following the game.

Plenty to talk about after this one!

On this occasion it is ‘Matt Busby said to Joe Harvey…’:

POSITIVES

Osula

The lad didn’t have long to make an impact, but make an impact he did, with his constant harrying and that run across the box that led to his parried shot teeing up Bruno for the winner.

Well done Will, often maligned, but as with that equaliser at home to the Scousers, his contribution on Saturday was huge.

Three Points

We made hard work of that but got there in the end.

We missed some really great chances, hit the woodwork twice and their keeper made a couple of excellent saves, the one from Tonali late on being the pick of them.

It really should have been a comfortable win against a very physical Fulham but the headlines will instead dwell on that injury time strike from Bruno.

We know it isn’t easy to do when the opponent is resting midweek and has time out on the training ground, but that’s the norm for us now, and we need to get used to it.

We go again on Wednesday in defence of our Carabao Cup.

Captain Fantastic

Aren’t we just running out of superlatives when it comes to our number 39?

He is the lifeblood of that team, an adopted Geordie who gives his all and never gives up, and I’m not just talking about him scoring the winner yesterday. What a celebration!

Our captain fantastic!

NEGATIVES

Errant Passing

There were too many errant passes for my liking in yesterday’s display.

We need to cut those out as soon as possible.

The man in the middle

Peter Bankes was terrible.

Fulham decided that with this clown in charge, after a late swap out with Tony Harrington, their best tactic was to constantly foul those in black and white shirts.

Big Nick in particular had to endure more than his fair share of shirt pulling and sly digs from the Fulham centre backs without any intervention from the hapless Bankes.

Make no mistake, we won yesterday in spite of that referee.

The table should look much better

I’ve heard a fair amount of criticism levelled at NUFC this season in the Premier League, and at first glance, three wins, three draws and three defeats isn’t the best run of form.

That it’s an identical record to this time last season, should give us some encouragement. In fact, after nine games last season, our goal difference was worse (-1 versus +1).

The real negative is that we should have at least four more points on the board.

I think we should have got a point out of both Liverpool and Arsenal and at least another two on the road, failing to win at one of Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth, take your pick.

The reality is, yesterday’s win should have propelled us into the top four.

Newcastle 2 Fulham 1 – Saturday 25 October 2025 3pm

(Stats via BBC Sport)

Newcastle United:

Murphy 18, Bruno 90

Fulham:

Lukic 56

Possession was Newcastle 51% Fulham 49%

Total shots were Newcastle 18 Fulham 12

Shots on target were Newcastle 7 Fulham 5

Corners were Newcastle 4 Fulham 3

Touches in the box Newcastle 36 Fulham 25

Pope, Trippier, Thiaw, Botman (Schar 61), Burn, Bruno, Joelinton, Miley (Tonali 61), Gordon (Elanga 76), Woltemade (Osula 86), Murphy (Barnes 61)

Subs:

Ramsdale, Krafth, Willock, Ramsey

(BBC Sport comments from ‘neutrals’ – Interesting on Newcastle United after 2-1 Fulham win – Read HERE)