AFTER a season in which they have had to negotiate a host of obstacles not of their own making, perhaps it is only fitting that the campaign ends with Newcastle United’s fate out of their own hands.

The Magpies fulfilled their side of the bargain this afternoon, swatting aside Brentford to record a 4-2 victory that means they finish in seventh position.

Now, it is a case of all eyes being trained on next weekend’s FA Cup final, where all of a black-and-white persuasion will become Manchester City supporters for the day. If Pep Guardiola’s side beat Manchester United at Wembley to win the double, Newcastle will claim a place in next season’s Conference League. If City fall short at Wembley, the Magpies will not be playing in a continental competition next term.

A campaign that has zig-zagged this way and that heads into overtime, with Newcastle’s final outing at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium providing a final illustration of what might have been.

Nick Pope, missing since December, made two crucial saves to prevent Brentford adding to the two goals they scored through Vitaly Janelt and Yoane Wissa. Joelinton, back at the heart of midfield, provided the kind of bite and energy that Newcastle have missed on the road in his absence. When Eddie Howe was worried about his side running out of steam in the second half, he was able to bring on Kieran Trippier, Miguel Almiron and Callum Wilson from the bench. How he must have wished he had been able to do similar at various stages of the season.

Having finished on a high, how will the campaign be remembered as a whole? A mixed bag, really, with the highs of the Champions League campaign and that unforgettable thrashing of Paris St Germain being accompanied by the lows of a seemingly endless injury list and a succession of costly away defeats. At least Newcastle addressed the latter failing at the final time of asking yesterday with only their sixth league away win.

Emulating last season’s top-four finish was always going to be a huge ask, with the demands of the fixture list in the first half of the season, in particular, ultimately proving too big an obstacle to overcome. Howe will point to the absence of so many key players for big chunks of the season as mitigation for his side’s failure to secure a Champions League return, and the Magpies boss deserves credit for keeping his team in the European equation.

Nevertheless, for all that yesterday’s much-improved showing underlines what the Magpies are still capable of once they start getting some of their injured players back, and for all that the club’s Saudi Arabia-backed ownership group seem to accept there are extenuating circumstances behind this season’s wobble, they are unlikely to be as accommodating if the trajectory does not return to being an upward one next season.

There will be changes in the summer, and it will be interesting to see if the final game of the current campaign also marks the end of the road for Martin Dubravka, Paul Dummett, Matt Ritchie, Almiron and Wilson, stalwarts of the Steve Bruce era who all started on the bench yesterday. If this season has highlighted anything, it is that the standard of Newcastle’s squad players outside the established starting XI is nowhere near the level that is needed to compete on multiple fronts in the upper echelons of the Premier League.

Improving that situation in the summer has to be a priority, along with holding on to Bruno Guimares and Alexander Isak, who were today’s star performers, and Anthony Gordon, who was absent from the squad after damaging his Achilles in the defeat at Manchester United.

Both Guimares and Isak were superb as Newcastle strolled in the sunshine, although the defensive laxness that has been a characteristic of so much of the Magpies’ away play this season was still apparent early on. Newcastle could easily have been two goals down inside the opening ten minutes, which might well have led to a markedly different afternoon.

Less than two minutes had gone when Mathias Jensen released Bryan Mbuemo down the right, with the winger scampering behind Lewis Hall. Mbuemo crossed for Ivan Toney to slot home, but a review revealed Mbuemo was an inch or two offside.

Seven minutes later, and it was the recalled Pope sparing his team-mates’ blushes. Hall failed to adequately control a square pass from Dan Burn, enabling Mbuemo to once again break down the right. He threaded a pass to Toney, but the former Newcastle striker’s shot was blocked by Pope’s outstretched leg.

Newcastle needed something to spark them out of their slumber, and it should have arrived via Joelinton before the quarter-hour mark. Isak did superbly down the right, skipping past two defenders before sliding a cross to Joelinton at the back post. The Brazilian was completely unmarked eight yards out, but somehow side-footed wide.

It was a bad miss, but at least it announced the Magpies’ arrival into the game and, with Isak looking far brighter than he had at Old Trafford four days earlier, the visitors began to dominate.

Their passing became notably slicker, and the improvement was rewarded when they claimed the lead in the 21st minute. With his team-mates having worked the ball from one side of the field to the other, Jacob Murphy played the ball infield to find Guimares. The Brazilian floated a cross to the back post, and having burst between two defenders, Harvey Barnes thumped an excellent header past Mark Flekken.

Sean Longstaff also had the ball in the net five minutes later, but while the midfielder’s effort was chalked off because Isak had strayed offside before teeing him up, Newcastle’s Swedish striker more than made amends as he claimed a goal and an assist within the space of two minutes towards the end of the first half.

Isak’s sense of anticipation was the key to Newcastle’s second goal in the 37th minute, with the forward pouncing when Ethan Pinnock miscontrolled what should have been a routine pass. Seizing on the loose ball, Isak broke down the left, and when he rolled a square pass into the area, Murphy was left with the simple task of slotting home.

Newcastle’s travelling contingent in the corner of the Gtech were in party mode, and their celebrations became even more ecstatic when Murphy and Isak were involved again in a quickfire third.

Murphy won the ball close to the right touchline, and immediately shuffled it inside to Guimaraes. He released Isak into the right of the box, and displaying the kind of clinical composure that has been his trademark for most of the season, Newcastle’s star striker drilled a low finish past Flekken. It was Isak’s 21st league goal, a tally that has been bettered by just Cole Palmer and Erling Haaland.

Brentford’s players appeared to have checked out for the summer in the latter stages of the first half, but they at least displayed some fight in the early stages of the second, clawing back a goal to keep things interesting.

Wissa slid over a low cross after turning on the right of the box, and after breaking between Dan Burn and Fabian Schar, Janelt side-footed home.

Brentford were significantly improved after the break, and while Pope made a smart save down to his right to keep out Toney’s header, Wissa ensured a frantic finale by scoring a second goal for the hosts with 20 minutes left. Toney flicked the ball into the Frenchman’s path, and after turning inside Burn, he curled a brilliant long-range finish into the far corner.

With their lead having been trimmed to a solitary goal, and with Manchester United winning at Brighton, Newcastle needed a fourth goal to settle their nerves. They thought they had a great chance to score one when Mbuemo tripped Hall, with referee Simon Hooper pointing to the spot.

However, while the foul looked to have carried on into the area, a VAR check resulted in the spot-kick being changed to a free-kick on the edge of the box. No matter. Isak drilled a low shot past the wall, and with Flekken only able to parry, Guimares pounced to slam home the rebound.