Bruno’s magic and Woltemade’s nerve lift Newcastle and St James’ Park

Newcastle United found the blend of patience and punch they have been craving, beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 thanks to a sublime Bruno Guimaraes curler and a late, audacious Nick Woltemade penalty. It was only a second Premier League win of the season, but one that felt like a step forward for a team gradually growing into the campaign.

Forest’s pragmatic shape and the inspired Matz Sels kept the hosts at arm’s length until Guimaraes – captain for the day and conductor thereafter – broke the deadlock just before the hour. When Elliot Anderson tripped him in the box late on, Woltemade settled matters with cool precision to maintain his scoring streak at St James’ Park.

Patience after a European statement

Eddie Howe kept faith with the XI that dismantled Union Saint-Gilloise 4-0 in midweek, but this was a different challenge. Newcastle entered as the league’s lowest scorers and confronted a Forest side that had parked a back five across the edge of their area. Space was scarce and rhythm elusive.

Sels denied Joelinton with a flying stop and even a speculative effort from the Brazilian from near halfway reflected the first-half frustration. With Nikola Milenkovic tracking Woltemade tightly, service to the club-record signing was sparse. Still, Newcastle’s discipline never wavered and the tempo rose after the interval.

Captain sets the tone

The moment arrived when Guimaraes snapped into a challenge on Morgan Gibbs-White, took a return pass from Dan Burn on the edge of the box and arced an immaculate right-foot shot beyond Sels. Forest protested to referee Peter Bankes, but a VAR review deemed Guimaraes had got enough of the ball in the turnover and the goal stood.

From there, Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali took command. Forest’s compact lines began to stretch and St James’ Park leaned forward as Newcastle’s passing grew crisper and more ambitious.

Woltemade’s growing aura

Sels tipped over Tonali’s cushioned volley and, from the resulting corner, Woltemade thumped a half-volley against the underside of the bar. Minutes later, the Forest goalkeeper produced a double stop to repel Malick Thiaw and Harvey Barnes, delaying the inevitable.

It fell to Woltemade to finish it. Anderson bundled Guimaraes over in the area and the Germany striker lifted the penalty emphatically into the top left corner. It kept up his record of scoring in each of his first three Premier League home games, placing him alongside Les Ferdinand (1995) and Alan Shearer (1996). For a £70m summer signing whose hold-up play already links Newcastle’s attacks, this was another compelling note in the early ‘WolteWow’ soundtrack.

Solid base and signs of momentum

Newcastle’s control in the second half was underpinned by a miserly defence and an alert press. Even as Sels excelled, Forest seldom threatened beyond an early Chris Wood miss at the back post, and the clean sheet – Newcastle’s sixth in 10 games this season – reinforced the sense of a platform forming.

“Bruno’s goal was a moment of magic,” Howe told Sky Sports. “We had to be patient, but second half we had control. The clean sheets are crucial and Nick Pope’s been playing well too.” The tone now is of calm progress rather than concern.

On to Brighton and Benfica

This win followed a European statement and felt like a domestic course correction. Newcastle still weren’t at their ferocious best, but they were authoritative when it mattered, found quality in the final third and managed the game expertly once ahead.

Attention turns to Brighton away on Saturday, 18 October, before Jose Mourinho’s Benfica visit Tyneside on Tuesday, 21 October. With Guimaraes dictating and Woltemade growing by the week, momentum finally looks within Newcastle’s grasp.