JOE WILLOCK scored his seventh goal in as many games in what could be his last in a Newcastle shirt.
The on-loan Arsenal midfielder grabbed his eighth of the campaign for the Toon in the 23rd minute against Fulham to bring an end to his three-and-a-half month stint with the club.
Fabian Schar scored a late penalty to move Newcastle up to 12th – their highest finish for three years.
Willock is only the second Newcastle player to score in seven games on the spin – joining club legend Alan Shearer who pulled off the feat in 1996.
He is also just the ninth player in Premier League history to do so.
And with the season now over, calls for Mike Ashley to open his wallet this summer to make the move for the 21-year-old permanent are only going to increase.
Willock has been a revelation in a Newcastle shirt – and is one of the main reasons Steve Bruce’s men arrived at Craven Cottage having already secured their Prem status.
This was supposed to be a mouth-watering final day relegation showdown. Instead, thanks to Fulham’s mammoth slump in form, it was an end of season let down. A real snooze-fest.
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Scott Parker’s Fulham were just a point behind Newcastle having played a game more after beating Liverpool back in March – but picked up just two points from their next nine matches.
Newcastle during that time took advantage by taking points off of Tottenham, Liverpool, West Ham and Leicester – but there was none of that desire to attack and create on this occasion.
Allan Saint-Maximin passed a late fitness test before kick-off and produced a lively run early on to force Marek Rodak into an early save.
But it was Willock who stole the headlines as he drove from inside his own half into the Fulham box before making the most of a slight ricochet to fire home.
He ran towards the bench with his finger to his ear, perhaps asking Bruce just how much the club are going to fork out to keep him in black and white.
Fulham meanwhile were dominating the ball but without testing Martin Dubravka, and then came the chance in the 55th minute to appease the 2,000 fans inside Craven Cottage.
A blind pass from Willock was picked up by Fabio Carvalho who squared it for Ivan Carvaleiro only for the Fulham forward to blast over from close range.
Newcastle wrapped it up in the 88th minute as Matt Ritchie was brought down by Kenny Tete before Schar stepped up to find the bottom corner.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
