Jacob Murphy ’s wonderful late strike was not enough to earn Newcastle victory at Craven Cottage , with Rodrigo Muniz levelling minutes later to earn Fulham a deserved 1-1 draw.

For 79 minutes here, there was almost nothing to stop supporters of Newcastle fearing a slide towards mid-table mediocrity. Then came Murphy’s rocket.

There was no apparent threat when the midfielder picked up the ball just inside Fulham’s half and saw little on in front of him.

All game, visiting fans had craved someone to take responsibility for their team’s blunted attack, and here it was, a brilliant, curling drive into the far corner seemingly to win it.

Alvaro Arbeloa had sent on Muniz in the 65th minute in search of the winning goal. Instead he was on hand to poach the equaliser, taking advantage of a mess in Newcastle’s penalty area to earn a point.…