SO much for being a club in crisis then. This has been a troubled start to the season for Newcastle United, yet for all that the transfer window might have finished in frustration, the Magpies have picked up seven points from nine in the Premier League and are through to the third round of the Carabao Cup. And that’s all without properly hitting their stride yet.

Their latest victory, over Tottenham, might have lacked fluency, but for the second home game in a row, Eddie Howe’s side displayed an abundance of spirit and commitment and relied on a moment or two of magic to emerge triumphant.

Harvey Barnes’ first-half opener came courtesy of a brilliant first-time finish, while Alexander Isak’s 78th-minute winner owed much to a wonderful piece of interplay between Joelinton and Jacob Murphy.

Nick Pope and Dan Burn might have erred for Spurs’ second-half equaliser, but the pair more than redeemed themselves either side of their mistake. Pope made two crucial saves in a minute as Spurs were pressing for a winner of their own, while Burn was immense all afternoon, winning tackles, making blocks and successfully negating the impact of missing out on Marc Guehi. Burn might not be perfect, but he remains one of the heartbeats of this Newcastle team.

Isak, whose continued presence on Tyneside is one of the few successes of the summer window, is another, and the Swede almost broke the deadlock in the fifth minute. Having brushed aside Son Heung-min, Isak floated over an inventive chip that beat Vicario but saw the ball rebound off the crossbar. An inch or two lower, and it would have been quite some goal.

Barnes curled a shot just wide after cutting inside onto his right foot, but while Lloyd Kelly headed over from a corner, Spurs enjoyed a period of dominance midway through the first half that resulted in Pope having to make two crucial saves from long-range efforts from Pape Sarr.

Newcastle’s players were having to drop deep, in a manner reminiscent of their opening-day win over Southampton, but just as that game featured a goal just before the interval, so the Magpies once again broke the deadlock with half-time approaching.

The goal owed much to the sharp thinking of Burn, with the defender flinging a quick throw-in towards Kelly, who was breaking down the left. The full-back pulled the ball back into the path of Barnes, who drilled home a clinical first-time finish from just inside the 18-yard box.

The goal gave Newcastle something to hold onto in the second half, but unlike in the Southampton game, when the Magpies hung on doggedly with ten men, this time around, they were unable to repel some persistent Spurs attacking.

Howe’s side could barely get out of their own half in the opening stages of the second period, such was the extent of Tottenham’s dominance, and while they were fortunate to escape when Pedro Porro’s deflected cross struck the crossbar with a wrong-footed Pope well beaten, they were pegged back a minute later when their goalkeeper was found wanting.

Pope should have dealt with a James Maddison shot that was struck straight at him, but instead he scooped the ball towards Brennan Johnson who was loitering close to the byline. A scrambling Pope got a hand to Johnson’s follow-up effort, but in diverting the flight of the ball, he caught out Burn, who could only hook into his own net.

It was harsh on Burn, who had been Newcastle’s best defender to that point, but while Kelly forced a smart save from Vicario as the hosts tried to regain their advantage, the Magpies’ play continued to lack fluency.  

Indeed, while Pope should have done much better with the goal, the Newcastle goalkeeper redeemed himself with two saves in a minute to keep the scores level, turning Maddison’s shot around the post before tipping Porro’s goal-bound drive over the crossbar.

It was a crucial double intervention as, with 12 minutes remaining, the Magpies reclaimed the lead. Joelinton was the architect of the goal, spinning away from his marker in midfield and sending substitute Murphy breaking into the right of the box. He squared to Isak, who had the simple task of rolling home.