Star stepped up to plate for crisis at Toon

IT'S not even two months ago, but the end of February was something of a bleak period for Newcastle United. Humbling Premier League defeats to Liverpool, Manchester City, Bournemouth and Fulham had come on the back of a transfer window which saw no new arrivals.

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As we moved into March, Anthony Gordon picked up a three-match ban, and Sven Botman went under the knife for a knee op that would rule him out of most of the remainder of the season.

So when it was confirmed that Lewis Hall had kicked his last ball of the campaign after finally succumbing to a foot problem, it felt like the latest in a series of blows which could derail Newcastle's ambitions.