Newcastle owners' 'excitement' and strong words had as it turns 'ugly' at Brentford

Six goals. Individuals soldiering on with injuries. Some madcap defending. This 4-2 win at Brentford was a rather fitting way for Newcastle United to sign off on the final day of the Premier League season. It was a rollercoaster, all right.

Where do you even begin? How do you even try and sum up a campaign unlike anything players, staff or supporters had quite experienced - and that is saying something.

This was a season where Newcastle put PSG, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Spurs and countless others to the sword at St James' Park. A year where the Magpies were thrown into the group of death. There was Sandro Tonali's suspension and a never-ending series of crippling injuries. Who could forget VAR and that night in Paris....or how Newcastle were 'outfought and outworked' by Luton Town less than a month later? Remember when Newcastle took over the Stadium of Light? What about when Dan Ashworth was sent to his garden? There was some familiar cup heartache but just when all appeared lost, after Newcastle went 3-1 down against West Ham, the black-and-whites found a second wind to finish the season strongly.

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The reward might not be a return to the Champions League, but Newcastle are now on the cusp of another season in Europe following a seventh-placed finish. Provided Manchester City win the FA Cup on Saturday, of course.

Newcastle have greater long-term goals in mind, whether Europa Conference League football is secured, or not, but there is rightly a sense of pride behind the scenes. Staff feel it has been a season of growth on and off the field despite the drop in league position. Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall, Lewis Miley, Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak are among those individuals who have developed further. This is an experience that will undoubtedly stand to the group.

That is why part-owners Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Jamie Reuben have both written of their 'excitement' about what is to come. Central to that will be a summer where Eddie Howe knows Newcastle have to be 'smart'.

"We have an idea of where we want to take the squad, of what we want to do, of the areas we can improve," the Newcastle boss said ahead of flying out to Australia for two post-season friendlies. "It's an exciting thought because you can see us whenever we play there's goals. We want more for us and less for the opposition as every manager does and that's the fight we have on our hands."

On that point, you have to go back to 1961 for the last time Newcastle scored so many goals (85) in a top-flight campaign. Not even Kevin Keegan's Entertainers were quite so prolific.

However, to come back stronger next season, Newcastle have to tighten up and rediscover the fight that unnerved so many of their rivals on the road last year. This was another afternoon where Newcastle conceded multiple goals, but there was a glimpse of the qualities that have been missing following the return of some key figures like Nick Pope and Joelinton to the starting line-up after their lengthy absences.

As goal scorer Harvey Barnes told NUFC TV: "We dug in there. We know throughout the team we've got the characters to do that. When it's ugly, we can get results."

It certainly turned ugly in the closing stages. Neal Maupay, in one of his final acts as a Brentford player, senselessly scythed down Nick Pope, but the visitors were not cowed. Far from it.

Kieran Trippier was among those who rushed onto the scene and the England international gave the substitute a piece of his mind. Pope also had some strong words with Maupay before Ivan Toney, acting as peacemaker, tried to carry the goalkeeper away. When Brentford fans chanted: "England's number four!", a smiling Pope merely raised his fingers to signify the scoreline.

By that stage, Newcastle were 4-2 up and the game should have long been put to bed at 3-0. However, when Newcastle could have wobbled, the Magpies ultimately held firm at the Gtech.

That has not often been the case away from home this season. This is a side, after all, who have lost 11 games on their travels in the Premier League - conceding 40 goals in the process - which are figures that put Newcastle in the bottom four on the road.

Another defeat was unthinkable on the final day but the visitors, as has so often been the case away, made a sluggish start and Brentford had the ball in the back of the net early on. Mathias Jensen's clever first-time pass sent Bryan Mbeumo in behind Lewis Hall and the forward squared the ball to Toney. The former Newcastle striker could not miss, but VAR intervened and ruled that Mbeumo was offside in the build-up.

It was a huge let-off for Newcastle, but Hall could not get a handle on Schar's pass just a few minutes later and Mbeumo pounced. Mbeumo slid the ball across to Toney once again but, this time, the England international was denied by Pope's foot.

That was a wake-up call. Newcastle finally settled and the visitors had a glorious opportunity to open the scoring in the ninth minute. Alexander Isak wriggled away from Ethan Pinnock down the right flank and pulled the ball across goal. There was Joelinton to meet it, with the goal gaping, but the Brazil international somehow missed the target.

It was a late contender for miss of the season, but Newcastle eventually took the lead midway through the first half. Bruno Guimaraes, in space, whipped a teasing ball into the box and there was Barnes at the back post to get his head on it and put the visitors in front. That was the cue for repeated chants of 'Europe again, olé! olé!' from the away end.

Their afternoon got even better in the 36th minute. Ethan Pinnock failed to deal with Dan Burn's punt forward and Alexander Isak pounced, dispossessing the Brentford defender, before racing clear down the left and sliding the ball across to Jacob Murphy. The forward doubled his side's advantage.

Murphy turned provider just a few minutes later after taking the ball off the casual Sergio Reguilon and finding Bruno. The midfielder threaded the ball through to Isak and Mark Flekken could not keep out the striker's venomous effort.

Brentford had a mountain to climb, but the Bees regrouped at half-time and pulled one back just after the break when Yoane Wissa picked out Vitaly Janelt, who finished first-time from inside the box. Janelt grabbed the ball and led his team-mates back to their half. Game on? It sure was.

Brentford went on to grab another. There were 70 minutes on the clock when a long ball was flicked on by Ivan Toney to Wissa. The Brentford forward cut inside Dan Burn before letting fly from just outside the area with a curling effort past Pope.

Having been 3-0 up, all of a sudden, Newcastle were clinging onto seventh and a potential place in Europe after Manchester United took the lead at Brighton. However, Newcastle did not capitulate and when Flekken could only parry Isak's free-kick late on, Bruno restored the visitors' two-goal advantage. It proved the final strike of an eventful Premier League campaign.