Alexander Isak’s stoppage-time penalty gives Newcastle a crucial 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest

If Newcastle manage to qualify for the Champions League, they may remember it as the night they did.

The visitors ended Nottingham Forest’s nine-game unbeaten run in the league when Alexander Isak converted a stoppage-time penalty, his second goal of the night, to move Eddie Howe’s side within a point of Tottenham, fourth ranked.

It was a ridiculous handball from Moussa Niakhate that gave Newcastle their chance and Isak, who had equalized earlier after Emmanuel Dennis’s opener, scored the penalty after persuading Kieran Trippier to give him the ball. He found the net with the class expected from a player costing £60m.

After their first loss here since September, Forest remain just two points clear of the last three and unless they can improve their away form, they are running into serious trouble.

After a slow start to 2023, Newcastle looked their old self again by beating Wolves 2-1 last weekend and they started this one with plenty of aplomb.

Moussa Niakhate’s ridiculous handball gave the Magpies a chance to win from the spot

Emmanuel Dennis dismissed the hosts on 26 minutes, taking advantage of Sven Botman’s poor mistake

The woods opened up on the left in the sixth minute when Kieran Trippier released Jacob Murphy. The first-half cross was perfectly weighted for attack by Joe Willock, whose shot mismatched his run from midfield when he fired wide near the penalty spot.

Soon after, the home team suffered another disappointment when Trippier, who excelled in the early stages, fired a deft free-kick at Alexander Isak. The Swede’s shot was weak but deflections from Brennan Johnson and Serge Aurier left Renan Lodi with no time to react. The ball bounced off the Brazilian’s knee and off the crossbar.

Moments later, Newcastle demanded a penalty when Bruno Guimaraes went down under a challenge from Dennis, while Ryan Yates and Willock were in a brawl, both lucky to avoid a booking.

Dennis was not so lucky in the 22nd minute when he robbed Trippier, but earned a yellow card when referee Paul Tierney deemed his challenge dangerous.

Forest was furious, but four minutes later they were leading. Sven Botman’s back pass to Nick Pope was missed and after Dennis took the ball the opportunity seemed to disappear momentarily. The Nigerian knew otherwise though, as he produced a brilliant chip from a tight angle that sailed into the top corner.

Dan Burn was soon booked for a huge challenge on Yates and was harassed by the home crowd thereafter. Sean Longstaff came very close to silencing them when he became the second player to hit the wood. Murphy again did the damage, getting past Lodi and finding Longstaff, whose 20-yard effort hit Felipe off the bar.

The striker cleverly took the ball around Nick Pope before slipping past the keeper.

Isak leveled the game for Newcastle just before half-time with a superb volley finish

Newcastle finally found the equalizer they deserved with Willock in the middle. The midfielder’s center avoided Aurier’s jump and converted it from Isak’s volley. It was an unorthodox finish, possibly more on the shin than the boot, for his second in as many games.

Newcastle picked up where they had left off in the second half with Elliot Anderson, a half-time substitute for Alain Saint-Maximin, instantly involved. He first gave Felipe quite a scare by beating him on a long clearance, before provoking a brilliant save from Keylor Navas with a volley from Murphy’s cross.

Forest then suffered a blow when Yates, who had been a tiger in midfield, was sent off with injury just before the hour mark and replaced by Remo Freuler. But his luck lay in moments later when Muprhy played for Longstaff only for the midfielder to lose his balance in the vital second. Newcastle drew confidence from that and Guimaraes forced Navas to deliver the upward drive from him. Forest defended the corner nervously only for Anderson to fire high and wide from the edge of the box.

Guimaraes had made a quiet start to the game, but his influence was growing by the second and he played a part in the move that Newcastle thought had given them the lead.

Second half substitute Elliot Anderson felt he had scored his first senior goal for Newcastle

But his header was ruled offside after a strict VAR review, keeping the score level at 1-1.

The Brazilian’s pass found Isak and when Moussa Niakhate couldn’t clear, Isak played a fabulous ball to the far post where Anderson leapt past Aurier and headed past Navas.

The Newcastle bank was jubilant, but not for long. After a long delay, the goal was disallowed because Isak’s original cross had rebounded off Longstaff, who was in an offside position. Tierney checked the screen to make sure and the decision to disallow the goal was greeted with a great roar.

Newcastle continued to push Murphy with a deflected volley from a promising position.

There was still time for Aurier to cut through the line and for Felipe to produce another brilliant block, before Pope rescued Newcastle by stopping Johnson’s angled effort with his feet after a rare break. But then Niakhate committed an incredible howl and Newcastle made the most of it. The festivities on the bench showed how important they felt it was.