Newcastle United player ratings v Brentford: ‘Faultless’ 7.5/10 & ‘clumsy’ 6/10 in 1-0 win - gallery

Newcastle United player ratings v Brentford: Magpies win 1-0 to return to winning ways in the Premier League. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Newcastle United ended a run of three straight Premier League defeats with a 1-0 win over Brentford at St James’ Park.

Callum Wilson scored from the spot midway through the second half as Eddie Howe’s side held out to record their first clean sheet of the 2023-24 campaign.

Eddie Howe made five changes from the 3-1 defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion with Sven Botman, Harvey Barnes, Elliot Anderson, Sean Longstaff and Callum Wilson introduced in place of Matt Targett, Miguel Almiron, Joelinton, Sandro Tonali and Alexander Isak.

Decent early save to deny Aaron Hickey. Rarely threatened after.

The penalty came when Anthony Gordon was taken out by Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken and Wilson made no mistake from the spot to net his third goal of the season - and United’s first victory since the opening day.

Here’s our Newcastle player ratings:

A faultless defensive performance. His leadership really did shine through.

A strong defensive display. Strong in the air and read the game well.

Went about his business quietly, albeit his distribution was a little off.

Dragged out of position in the first-half but improved as the game progressed. Excellent last-ditch challenge in the closing stages.

Should have opened the scoring in the first-half after his close-range header was saved by Mark Fleffen. A gritty performance with a few encouraging moments in the final third.

Needed 45 minutes to feel his way into the game. The second-half is when Longstaff’s intensity as he pressed and covered endless amount of ground, despite a couple of clumsy moments.

Showed balance and strength to turn in the middle of the park and set Barnes away. Drifted in and out of the game.

In a poor first-half, Gordon was a rare bright spark but faded when taking a knock to the knee in shortly after half-time.

A tale of two halves for Barnes on his full debut. Looked a little one dimensional in the first but gave Mads Roerslev problems after the break.

Twice headed over the first-half whilst enduring a physical battle with Ethan Pinnock. Kept his cool from the penalty spot with a superbly taken penalty.

Miguel Almiron (on for Barnes, 84) - N/A

Alexander Isak - unused sub

Lewis Hall - unused sub

Jamaal Lascelles - unused sub

Martin Dubravka - unused sub

Sandro Tonali - unused sub

Matt Targett - unused sub (Photo: (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images))

Tino Livramento - unused sub

Jacob Murphy - unused sub