At the 15th time of asking and a mere 195 days after they last collected maximum points, Newcastle finally ended their winless run on Saturday - to the unbridled delight of those present at Gallowgate.

The home hero was Callum Wilson, who coolly collected a loose ball in the box before firing high into the unguarded Leazes goal on 40 minutes - spurious claims that Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope had been impeded when losing possession rightly disproved by VAR.

Until that point the game had been fairly equal; a 13th minute shot from Johann Berg Gudmundsson deflected onto the goal frame and Wilson almost steering home ASM's neat drink on 29 minutes. 

Perhaps crucially, the visitors lost striker Maxwell Cornet on the half hour; depriving them of their top scorer and us of any ice-cream related puns. Whether he'd have done better than replacement Matej Vydra when given sight of goal is open to conjecture, but he could hardly have done worse.

Momentum continued to build in Newcastle's favour as the second half wore on; Miguel Almiron twice coming close to ending a personal goal drought now standing at 26 PL games (one less than it took him to get off the mark here)

The hosts also tried to play Burnley at their own game, forcing a series of corner kicks. And Shelvey got in on the act, capping a disciplined display by forcing Pope into conceding yet another flag kick.

1-0 up and with the finishing line in sight as it was against Norwich on Tuesday, the visitors looked to have claimed a point on 81 minutes when a rare outbreak of flowing football ended with substitute Jay Rodriquez firing home - only to be correctly ruled offside to almost audible relief.

The eruption of emotion at full time was truly memorable; fans remaining in situ to salute the players who had finally taken a lead and retained it. Anyone walking into St.James' Park at that point would assume that the celebrations were in honour of a team having qualified for a cup final rather than fighting for Premier League survival. Incredible.

And in the middle of the lap of honour was a delighted Eddie Howe, having  got his Magpies career off to a winning start against one of his old clubs. The collective relief was tangible on and off the pitch; the appreciation for Howe managing to get a tune out of this group of players very evident. Joelinton again looked like an asset rather than a liability, while Jamal Lewis repaid the faith invested in him by retaining his place with an encouraging display.

Heading away from the ground, the noise produced from those inside was still clearly audible on Westgate Road. Comparisons between Wilson's winner and David Kelly's goal here against Portsmouth in 1992 are valid, not just in the three points gained but the collective shot in the arm that it gave. And then as now, the next fixture is away to Leicester City. Best stop off the pitch this time eh...?

Whatever else happens in the coming weeks and months, the relief at this result should be celebrated by owners, coaches, players and fans alike. Lord knows, some potentially terrifying games will be here soon enough.

It's not just this season though; SJP hasn't witnessed similar scenes since Isaac Hayden's winner against Chelsea in January 2020 - a lifetime ago. And we're accused of having unrealistic expectations?

Whether the barrier was mental or physical is of less consequence than the fact that it's now finally consigned to the dustbin of history. Despite the seemingly endless blows suffered, a genuine collective spirit remains here; it was good to be reminded of that today.

The ongoing frustration of the opening months of this season was our failure to beat thoroughly ordinary sides like Watford, Wolves, Brighton and Norwich. Burnley were equally shabby, but for once we managed to ensure that they left empty-handed. Something changed. 

That's not to say that everything has magically gone right round here - just that there was less wrong by nightfall than there had been at daybreak. God knows we've waited long enough for signs of life.
 

Game of winners - post match scenes (Howe centre back)