Fulham and Newcastle United couldn’t be separated in their first-ever Premier League draw at Craven Cottage, with the 1-1 scoreline meaning the Cottagers have now lost only one of their last seven league encounters (W2, D4).
Desperate for a response after his side were booed off the field in a 1-0 defeat to Everton on Monday, Matthias Jaissle will have been somewhat concerned as Fulham made a bright start here.
Inside the opening quarter-hour, Oscar Bobb had a presentable opening when the ball broke kindly for him in the area, but Lukas Hornicek was equal to his bending effort and watched on thankfully as Gonzalo Garcia’s looping header kissed the top of the crossbar from the resulting corner.
Yet to score before the break on their Premier League travels this season, Newcastle almost broke that duck when Harvey Barnes directed Jacob Murphy’s low cross goalwards, but he was denied by Bernd Leno’s outstretched leg.
And the Magpies couldn’t have come much closer when Dan Burn freed himself of his marker to prod home from a corner, wheeling off in celebration only to be denied for an off-the-ball foul in the build-up.
Recent England call-up Josh King then almost compounded that sinking feeling for the away fans, forcing Hornicek into another save with a thumping volley just before half-time.
Remarkably, only one of Fulham’s last 17 home games had ended level (W9, L7), suggesting there was more to come after the restart, and Barnes again threatened to break the deadlock, curling wide from a promising position.
Sander Berge saw his low shot whistle narrowly wide at the other end, but it was Newcastle who produced a period of sustained pressure, which eventually led to the opener.
Facing up to Alex Iwobi, and with not much on, Murphy worked a yard of space as he cut inside and unleashed a ferocious drive that flew past the desperate dive of Leno.
However, that advantage lasted just two minutes and 58 seconds, as Cesar Palacios’ deflected pass found its way to substitute Rodrigo Muniz, who quickly improvised to stab a shot in off Burn, levelling the scores dramatically.
That wasn’t the end of the drama though, and Lewis Hall had the chance to steal back the lead late on, but a tame side-foot was easily held by Leno.
Fulham thus continued a strong recent record of just one loss in their last five Premier League head-to-heads (W3, D1).
More importantly, the recent upturn in form has seen Alvaro Arbeloa’s side pull away from the drop zone, edging onto double-figure points in 15th.
Meanwhile, Jaissle still has plenty of questions to answer at Newcastle, where four points from a possible 15 doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, even if they are two points further ahead in 11th.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jacob Murphy (Newcastle)
Catch up on all the match stats with Flashscore here