Newcastle 1-0 Wolves: Chris Wood penalty earns key win for Eddie Howe's side

Newcastle took a huge step towards Premier League survival as Chris Wood's penalty proved enough to beat a blunt Wolves side at St James' Park.

The January signing slammed home the second-half winner at the Gallowgate End after being fouled by Wolves keeper Jose Sa at the end of a flowing team move.

VAR checked if Sa had made adequate contact, after an earlier review had denied Wood in the first half, when he saw a goal chalked off because team-mate Bruno Guimaraes was narrowly offside in the build-up.

Wolves failed to touch the ball in the Newcastle area in a dire opening 45 minutes and manager Bruno Lage will wonder why it took until the 80th minute for his side to work home keeper Martin Dubravka when Fabio Silva forced a diving save.

Newcastle - who saw Allan Saint-Maximin fire over the bar before Wood's goal and Guimaraes go close to adding a second - thoroughly deserved to follow a run of three straight defeats with this win.

It moves them 10 points clear of the relegation zone - though 18th-placed Burnley have two games in hand - while Wolves stay eighth and lose crucial ground in their push for a Europa League spot.

Sloppy Wolves let Newcastle profit

Eddie Howe will be ecstatic having taken over a side sat 19th in the table and five points from safety in November.

The Newcastle boss has a quote which reads "make each day your masterpiece" on a wall in his office. This display was by no means joyful or pretty in how it was crafted but it was one where consistent effort and sporadic quality across the 90 minutes meant Newcastle always looked more likely to find any winner.

Wolves were fortunate when VAR chalked off Wood's close-range finish in the first half. Guimaraes raced onto a superb flick by substitute Miguel Almiron - on for the injured Ryan Fraser - and was fractionally offside.

In the aftermath, Wolves captain Conor Coady could be seen screaming at team-mates in a bid to rise some kind of energy and application.

It never really arrived and, gradually, the home side started to create half-chances after the break until Saint-Maximin and Joelinton combined to send Wood clear in the game's key moment.

Wood's finish ensured Newcastle beat a side in the top half of the table for the first time this season and also carried the Magpies to a fourth win in a row at home - their best run since March of 2019.

Howe has profited from cultivating a belief at St James' Park and his side will now surely play Premier League football there next season.

It is hard to see the sides currently near the foot of the table producing a run of form that can drag Newcastle back into the kind of trouble that led to Howe's appointment in the first place.

Lage will be left wondering how his side - with eight away wins to their name already this season - could be so poor.

They are just one win away from equalling their record mark of 16 in a Premier League season - set in 2018-19 - but their first-half display here set the tone for a night of despair.

Wolves delivered one cross in the first 45 minutes compared to 14 after the break. In the opening half they completed 31% of their passes in the final third compared to 74% in the second period.

It was a bemusing showing. A Europa League campaign is still well within reach but Wolves will need to find much more than they did here on a night where Newcastle took advantage to earn a crucial win.

Line-ups

Newcastle

Formation 4-3-3

1Dúbravka

17Krafth5Schär33Burn13Targett

39Guimarães Rodriguez Moura8Shelvey7Joelinton

21Fraser20Wood10Saint-Maximin

Substitutes

Wolves

Formation 3-4-2-1

1Malheiro de Sá

15Boly16Coady23Kilman

19Castro Otto39Cundle28João Moutinho5Marçal

11Machado Trincão26Hwang Hee-Chan

17Fábio Silva

Substitutes

Live Text

Match ends, Newcastle United 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0.

Second Half ends, Newcastle United 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0.

Substitution, Newcastle United. Jacob Murphy replaces Allan Saint-Maximin.

Attempt saved. Allan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle United) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Joelinton.

Attempt saved. Joelinton (Newcastle United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner.

Substitution, Newcastle United. Sean Longstaff replaces Bruno Guimarães.

João Moutinho (Wolverhampton Wanderers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Foul by João Moutinho (Wolverhampton Wanderers).

Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Rayan Aït-Nouri replaces Marçal.

Attempt saved. Jonny (Wolverhampton Wanderers) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.

Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Foul by Emil Krafth (Newcastle United).

Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Martin Dúbravka.

Attempt saved. Fábio Silva (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Luke Cundle.

Attempt missed. Fábio Silva (Wolverhampton Wanderers) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Marçal with a cross.

Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Chem Campbell replaces Trincão.

Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Pedro Neto replaces Hwang Hee-Chan.

Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by João Moutinho.

Attempt blocked. Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

Player of the match

Bruno GuimarãesBruno Guimarães

Newcastle United

Squad number39Player nameBruno Guimarães

Squad number20Player nameWood

Squad number33Player nameBurn

Squad number7Player nameJoelinton

Squad number5Player nameSchär

Squad number1Player nameDúbravka

Squad number13Player nameTargett

Squad number24Player nameAlmirón

Squad number8Player nameShelvey

Squad number17Player nameKrafth

Squad number10Player nameSaint-Maximin

Squad number21Player nameFraser

Squad number23Player nameMurphy

Squad number36Player nameS Longstaff

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Squad number7Player namePedro Neto

Squad number1Player nameJosé Sá

Squad number16Player nameCoady

Squad number23Player nameKilman

Squad number77Player nameCampbell

Squad number28Player nameJoão Moutinho

Squad number19Player nameJonny

Squad number15Player nameBoly

Squad number3Player nameAït-Nouri

Squad number39Player nameCundle

Squad number5Player nameMarçal

Squad number17Player nameFábio Silva

Squad number11Player nameTrincão

Squad number26Player nameHwang Hee-Chan

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