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After a season in the Championship, Newcastle United knew that victory over Preston North End on Monday night would see them promoted back to the top division of English football.
Rafa Benitez's team were clear favourites to win the Championship at the beginning of the season and they have been competing for the title from the start. However, it has not all been straight forward for the Magpies, with a slight dip in form allowing an opportunity for the chasing pack to challenge for automatic promotion.
Monday's victory sees Newcastle United promoted back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, along with Brighton and Hove Albion who sit top of the league with two games to go. Achieving automatic promotion was Newcastle's number one priority coming into this campaign, but they will now try to beat Brighton to the title, although they currently sit four points behind them.
On a huge night for the club, the Newcastle players' nerves were settled after seven minutes, when Ayoze Perez converted from close range. Something that wasn't in the script at St James' Park was Jordan Hugill's equaliser for Preston seven minutes later, which left the home fans shocked.
The celebratory mood was back moments before half time, when Christian Atsu gave Newcastle a 2-1 lead to take into the interval. The Magpies were now forty five minutes away from promotion.
This game was settled twenty minutes into the second half, when Preston's Paul Gallagher handled on the line, seeing him take an early bath and Matt Richie score Newcastle's third.
A fourth goal came soon after, Ayoze Perez with another close range finish, much to the delight of the fifty thousand home fans. To win promotion from this league is not easy and the Newcastle United faithful will be delighted that they have managed to do so at the first time of asking.
Written by Matt Button
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