When confidence is low, it helps to have a player whose self-belief knows no limit. There is something of the gladiator about Callum Wilson. Here, he was Newcastle’s sword and shield.
He led his team’s fight quite literally from the front on a day when perspiration was the superior of inspiration. But when it came to that moment of opportunity, one swoosh of Wilson’s right boot settled the duel.
His 64th-minute penalty — top corner, no less — was the difference between a first victory in over a month and the extension of a winless run that was starting to unnerve Eddie Howe.