Newcastle United: Top 5 moments of the decade
By Durim Halimi
#2. Jonas Secures Newcastle’s Survival
With Mike Ashley and his regime in charge, Newcastle United have competed in far too many relegation battles. In recent years, the club’s primary objective has been nothing more than to avoid relegation.
Fortunately, under Rafa Benitez the Magpies managed to secure their Premier League survival at least one month before the end of the season, but one season prior to his arrival Newcastle United were standing on thin ice.
It was May 24th, 2015 and Newcastle United were playing West Ham at St. James’ Park on the final day of the season. The Magpies needed to match Hull City’s result in order to avoid the drop to the Championship. Jonas Gutierrez, who was playing his final game for Newcastle United after seven years on Tyneside, saved the day. The former Argentine international delivered a wonderful cross in the box that found Moussa Sissoko to give the Toon a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute.
30 minutes later, Gutierrez became a true hero as he sealed the deal and reserved Newcastle United’s place in the Premier League for the 2015/16 season when he scored to make it 2-0. All the tension in St. James’ Park transformed into excitement. Nothing quite beats the feeling of avoiding relegation on the final day of the season.