Another strange afternoon at Gallowgate ended with the acquisition of three points, extending Newcastle's unbeaten league run to four games and making it ten points from a possible dozen.

However the lukewarm reception from home fans at the final whistle indicated their collective feeling to be one of relief than enthusiasm - at least until a burst of "Freed From Desire" at earwax-melting volume consumed any audible crowd response. Maybe that was the intention.

A home victory that was expected given the form of the opponents had looked beyond inevitable for most of the game, but suddenly became less certain during the quicksand that has become time added on for Eddie Howe and his players this season.

Once renowned for seeing games through and snuffing out any semblance of a comeback from the visiting side, the current incarnation of black and whites are the total opposite: almost intent on undoing their good work and generous to a fault - or on a really bad day, several.

There were parallels with Tuesday's confusing conclusion to the Spurs game - apart from the final score thankfully - where United twice roused themselves to carve out a lead, only to then casually toss that away, almost contriving to turn three points into none.

The same two home scorers for the second successive game looked to have ended this as a contest though rather than in the closing stages: the Clarets a man short by half time in addition to being two goals behind and seemingly en route to a sixth successive league loss.

Anthony Gordon had rattled the goal frame at the Leazes End before Bruno Guimaraes memorably managed to succeed in scoring direct from a corner after several near-misses this season.

Following the dismissal of Lucas Pires for hauling over Anthony Elanga as he was through on goal, the first of two spot-kick awards missed in real time by referee Stuart Attwell was then picked up by
VAR official Paul Howard and duly rubber-stamped by the whistler following pitchside reviews.

That saw Lesley Ugochukwu illegally control Gordon's left wing centre with his arm; Gordon beating former colleague, Martin Dubravka, to make it two spot kick conversions in five days after waiting since January to find the net in a Premier League game.

Two up with an extra man, a comfortable second half should have followed but the expected home goal glut never looked likely. Bruno and Gordon both went close from the edge of the area - the latter clipping the crossbar but overly-intricate passing around the edge of the box made defending easier for the depleted visitors.

Having showed indecision several times, Elanga finally began slinging balls over from the right without delay - one deflected by Maxime Esteve and forcing Dubravka into a save, another aimed towards Nick Woltemade but missed by the striker.

The German forward had a quiet game and made way for Yoane Wissa, debuting after missing 18 league and cup games since his arrival from Brentford. The 29 year-old had played in two recent training ground kickabouts following confirmation of his omission from AFCON duty this month.

The new boy had the chance to score late in the game but unselfishly tried to tee up Elanga rather than test Dubravka and saw his chipped cross elude the Swede. That would have given him back to back goals at Gallowgate, having netted here for the Bees in his last visit almost a year ago.

Then came Jacob Ramsey's moment of madness; sticking out an arm to block a shot that Aaron Ramsdale would have saved. Like the one in the first half there was little argument over another senseless and unnecessary handball, Flemming's penalty conversion bringing a sudden intrusion of reality to what was by then an elongated home training session (without any shooting practice).

Three added minutes stretched to nine, as United floundered badly and the Clarets rightly sensed their apprehension. Enthusiasm may have wasted a late chance for what looked a certain equaliser; Flemming and Laurent both unmarked six yards from goal and neither turning in Josh Cullen's cross.

Scott Parker's claim that this was Burnley's best performance of the season begs the question just how poor his side have been elsewhere, as they were pretty terrible here after early attempts at upsetting Ramsdale from set pieces that were partially successful.

Keeping with the contrariness of the game and/or season, the loudest home cheers were reserved for a visiting goalkeeper who conceded from a corner and a free kick, while the first appearance of a vastly-expensive home signing barely merited a ripple of applause.

Opinion is divided over Dubravka's latter day behaviour as Magpie - his pre-game interview in one newspaper bringing little clarification - but his contribution to the club overall is unquestioned and deserving of the post-match acknowledgement he received. Quite why some chose to chant for him earlier in proceedings escapes us however.... 

Whether we've improved the goalkeeping position with Ramsdale and Pope post-Dubravka is a moot point - the consensus at the moment in our watering hole(s) is that the improvement in distribution from Ramsdale is offset by a downturn ball handling/shot stopping.  

Back to Wissa, the best is yet to come - but he needs to hit the ground running, if the untimely leaks at the other end of the park cannot be repaired. Solving that conundrum (too many substitutions or a lack of onfield organisation without someone like Kieran Trippier have been theorised upon) is another thing on Howe's to-do list, along with how Ramsey actually becomes an asset to this team. His contribution today looked like a healthy argument for not shopping in the Premier League.

The demands of fighting on four fronts with an evolving squad mean that Howe has to shuffle his pack player-wise, and sometimes the jokers get left in. The likes of Joe Willock have a part to play, if only for giving respite to those around him, but Lewis Miley aside, the youngsters cannot contribute. If they cannot go out on loan and play adult football to prove themselves then it's all academic. 

There's no such thing as a settled XI and at present it's unwise to try and pick our strongest XI. 22 games in and many questions about this squad remain unanswered, even though the next transfer window opens in six games' time.

Amid the mild off-field gloom that matched conditions at full time, it seems important to reiterate that Newcastle won this game and in doing so, meant that they have more points than at this stage last year - during a season that included trophy glory and qualification for Champions League football.
 
Biffa