Rodrigo Muniz came off the bench to rescue a point for Fulham and deny Matthias Jaissle a welcome victory after a difficult week. Newcastle produced an improved display after a run of four defeats in five games in all competitions but they could not hold out after going 1-0 up thanks to a vicious late strike from Jacob Murphy.
Muniz stretched Fulham’s unbeaten run to four games after scoring his first league goal of the season. Álvaro Arbeloa will be pleased with César Palacios’s role in the goal given that the midfielder was culpable when Murphy scored.
Jaissle, who has faced awkward questions over his tactics and training methods, will look back at William Osula not holding the ball up before Muniz’s equaliser. But it was a forgettable game between two sides both too close to the bottom three for comfort.
Jaissle made four changes after accusing his players of not following instructions during last Monday’s defeat by Everton . This time the plan was for Newcastle to sit deep, denying Fulham space in behind, and the plan worked moderately well during a poor first half.
Both sides lacked fluency. Arbeloa wants Fulham to play at a brisk pace and dominate possession but they were lethargic at first. Gonzalo García, ineffective against Newcastle’s towering centre-back pairing of Dan Burn and Malick Thiaw, wanted too many touches and although Josh King was as urgent as ever the 19-year-old often found himself dropping into unthreatening areas in an attempt to lose Sean Steur and Nico González in midfield.
Newcastle paid a lot of attention to King. Yet the teenager, who has earned his first England call-up after a fine start to the season, still had his moments before half-time. King tested Lukas Hornicek with a stinging volley from the edge of the area and was later unable to rise high enough to land a free header on target.
Fulham’s frustration grew. Oscar Bobb and García had chances after an early error from Steur but Newcastle were comfortable without the ball. Their problem was more knowing what to do when they had it. Jaissle’s wingers often tucked in, leaving the visitors without enough width, and William Osula and Yoane Wissa were not doing enough to hold the ball up.
Newcastle, predictable without a No 10 to make their 4-2-3-1 system work, did not create much. Harvey Barnes was their most dangerous player and drew two smart saves from Bernd Leno. Newcastle started to assert themselves and were aggrieved to have a goal ruled out in the 33rd minute. Burn did nothing wrong when he swept past Leno from close range but Rob Jones had blown his whistle after spotting Wissa grappling with Timothy Castagne at the far post.
While it felt harsh it was explained as a “clear holding offence” by the Premier League’s Match Centre. Newcastle moved on and dominated the second half. Barnes rammed a shot wide from the edge of the area and Wissa drove an effort into the side netting from a tight angle.
Fulham brought Muniz on for García but they could not build any momentum. Newcastle’s pressing was more forceful and King going off injured was a big moment.
Palacios came on and was at fault when Newcastle broke the deadlock in the 80th minute. The Spaniard played an aimless pass across his own half and was punished by Murphy, who seized possession before driving forward to cut inside and wallop a brilliant shot past Leno from 25 yards.
It seemed Newcastle were set for a second consecutive away win in the league. Fulham had other ideas. Palacios displayed character after his mistake. The youngster linked with Alex Iwobi and smuggled the ball to Muniz, whose shot looped past Hornicek thanks to a deflection.
Fulham poured forward in search of a winner. Lewis Hall almost snatched the points for Newcastle, only for Leno to deny the left-back. A draw was fair.
