Following a month during which the whole nature of the club - and arguably the city it calls home - altered, Newcastle returned to St.James' Park on Wednesday for the first time since March 2nd.

That day's FA Cup loss to Brighton had ended with injury concerns over no less than five players including Alexander Isak, in addition to a red card for Anthony Gordon ruling him out of Wembley in an echo of Nick Pope's 2023 misadventure - hardly positive signs that the narrative was about to alter.

Eddie Howe's final whistle comments that day featured the words "stuttering" and "desperately disappointing", while our own post-mortem vocabulary included "outsmarted" and "uninspired".

Fast forward to April 2nd though and the black and white world is a different place now. The team that couldn't, did. The Japan Cup finally has a companion in the trophy cabinet. The mood of the Geordie Nation has collectively lifted, as generations of underachievement were discarded.

Some called it a 56 or 70 year curse, we just believed it to be our destiny to always miss out.

That mindset, acquired over during countless disappointments, meant that we never thought we'd witness a homecoming of this nature. To be in this city celebrating the capture of bona fide silverware represented uncharted territory; physically for the club and psychologically for us. 

There may have been deserved acknowledgements of second tier trinkets, Texaco Cups or even an Intertoto plaque but our own shortcomings led to us competing for them in the first place.

We obviously weren't alone in holding that conviction though, judging by the outpouring of emotion on the day, at the parade and on random street corners, bus stops or wherever black and whiters have met ever since, accompanied by variations of the phrase "aahjustcannotbelieveitman....."

A line had to be drawn somewhere though: ten games to play left no time for further orgies of self-congratulation, but the pre-game tone was well-judged. The fan displays provided a tangible recognition of the manager and squad; songs about winning cups a welcome novelty.

Losing tonight would have been classic Newcastle and the form of a Brentford side in search of their sixth successive away win rang alarm bells. Like the closing moments at Wembley though, the class of 2025 changed our Geordie genome, altered the defeatist DNA and got the job done. 

Eddie Howe's message was unequivocal enough and thankfully that had percolated down to the players, who were roared on the field with an unchanged line-up from that which faced Liverpool. 

A first half of few clear-cut chances for either side ended with the hosts going ahead in added time, Jacob Murphy centering from the right for Alexander Isak to convert a first-time shot from close range - aided by Mbeumo falling on his backside as the cross arrived.

Isak had looked a certain scorer seconds earlier when latching on to Fabian Schar's long ball, but took too many touches before opting to pass rather than shoot - Harvey Barnes undeniably offside by the time he belatedly headed in and the subsequent VAR check a statement of the obvious.

Clad in a displeasing pink and purple change kit, the Bees pressed United back more and more as the second period unfolded; levelling from the spot after Nick Pope collided with Yoan Wissa in the box and Bryan Mbeumo converted the resultant penalty.

That was the first of three penalty shouts by the visitors; Bruno Guimaraes slightly fortunate to escape after shoving Mikkel Damsgaard inside the box when the score was 1-1 and clattering into the Dane once again in added time with the Magpies 2-1 ahead. 

Having equalised, Brentford came closing to scoring again almost immediately; Ethan Pinnock nodding Kevin Schade's cross onto the post and Pope gratefully grabbing the rebound.

Then came the moment that left those present open-mouthed, incredulous at what they had seen.

There seemed no danger when Sandro Tonali collected a pass level with the six yard box towards the right touchline by the East Stand, but he immediately lashed it right-footed past the startled Mark Flekken - the third time he's done so against the Dutch 'keeper at the Leazes End this season but by far the most striking and memorable. Make that astonishing.

Comparisons with Peter Beardsley were made, in particular his effort from a similar angle on the left flank away at Sheffield Wednesday in August 1995. 

Two other goals from Pedro's repertoire also have similar hallmarks - one for England against Poland at Wembley in October 1990 and the other for Newcastle at home to Norwich City during April 1995. Both those came from the right wing, the latter scored at the Leazes End.

A goal fit enough to win any game thankfully resulted in three points for United; both sides having opportunities but that memorable strike the only time that anyone got a meaningful effort on target. That included goalkeeper Flekken going up for a corner and lingering there afterwards  - Pope resisting the temptation to try and outdo Tonali in scoring the goal of the game by launching the ball towards the unguarded Leazes net.

Brentford's no-nonsense approach of punting the ball upfield ensured that Dan Burn stayed busy with aerial challenges, having spent much of the night shadowing midfielder Yehor Yarmolyuk.

The Cup Final hero almost blotted his copybook during eight minutes of time added on, stumbling as the impressive Schade centred from the right edge of the box. Thankfully, Damsgaard's first-time shot from 12 yards cleared the Gallowgate End crossbar by a considerable distance.

Not a classic by any means then, but a valuable win over a well-drilled side who hadn't lost anywhere on the road since their Carabao Cup defeat here last December. 

Another gallant display by Kieran Trippier included a vital headed clearance in the six yard box early on, while Tino Livramento again filled in on the opposite flank admirably. Jacob Murphy turned moans into cheers with a timely assist and the winning goalscorer had given an outstanding performance even before his incredible effort. 

If there was a frustration, it was in seeing Callum Wilson's body visibly fail to match his brain: the raw pace of the unused William Osula surely posing a greater threat, or even just a distraction.  

Victory saw Newcastle reach the 50 point mark for the season and maintain fifth place in the table with nine games remaining. That then became sixth 24 hours later when Chelsea defeated Spurs - although United have a game in hand on all five sides currently sitting above them.

The open top bus may be back in the garage, but memories to last a lifetime and a new generation of heroes have been created. Hopes that the Carabao Cup victory wasn't due to a one-off alignment of the planets seem more than pipe dreams and "here to compete" is now less of a aspiration and more of a statement. An 80 year-old Bruno lamenting United's lack of silverware in 2077 isn't viable.

As of March 16 this is a different club, this team and manager have raised the expectation levels and admission prices will rapidly follow suit. The plucky underdog label has been cast aside and no longer can a Newcastle player - or their agent - trot out the "had to leave to win trophies" line.

Three stands tonight hosted displays pre-game - perhaps that banner with the line about demanding a club that tries not a team that wins should have appeared on the fourth side of the ground, just for old times' sake, before being ceremonially discarded. 

There's no going back and although achieved with a modicum of fortune at both ends of the park, this result was a positive start to the next task; upgrading our European Conference League spot. 

We've had a bellyful of the empty-handed entertainers plaudits and although tempting, cannot settle for one set of ribbons, one set of medals, one trophy. It's all about winning. 

Biffa

For Matt