This is why Eddie Howe never substitutes Bruno Guimaraes. You don’t take off your scriptwriter when the story is untold.
Not for the first time, Newcastle’s captain took up his pen and turned a sleeper into a thriller in the closing pages. There is a charisma about the Brazilian that demands the spotlight, and boy did his team need a leading man as this game entered the final 20 minutes.
It made headlines in the build-up when Howe bristled at accusations of him lacking a Plan B. Goalless on the hour, he stuck to the Plan A in which he has so much faith - what he did change was some of the cast.
There was the odd grumbling from the Gallowgate End when one of three hooked was midfielder Sandro Tonali, but that allowed Guimaraes to move to a central role - literally and metaphorically, it transpired. He knew his side needed inspiration and his manager knew he was the most likely source of it.
Harvey Barnes deserves mention for his impact as one of those 63rd-minute arrivals, and it was from his deep cross that the outstanding teenager Lewis Miley hooked back into the goalmouth. There, Guimaraes showed more desire and cunning than a posse of visiting jerseys to head in his seventh Premier League goal of the season. This year, the numbers support his more unquantifiable talents.
‘He is a special player, a special person and a special character,’ Howe later said.
With that 71st-minute breakthrough, the mood and momentum changed. Still, given Newcastle have lost 13 points from winning positions this season - and Palace were not without moments on the break - a second goal was always needed before victory felt assured.
The hosts had it seven minutes later when Guimaraes delivered a corner that proved torturous for Dean Henderson and his defenders and, after they made a mess of several attempted clearances, Malick Thiaw simplified things with a close-range prod. Game over and, for only the second time this season, back-to-back wins for Newcastle, who climb back into the top half of the Premier League.
‘Bruno has just got that big character and dependability that I don't really want to lose from the team,’ said Howe, when asked why he always keeps him on the field. ‘Your big players normally decide big games and today was a big game for us, decided by a huge player in our recent history. He’s done it countless times.'
Not that Newcastle had it all their own way. It can sometimes need a perceived injustice or flashpoint to ignite St James’ Park, and after a cold start they had that on 19 minutes. They would rather Anthony Gordon’s four-yard finish had stood, of course, but when the giant screen showed creator Yoane Wissa to be a sleeve offside, it stoked both crowd and team.
Before that, they had struggled with a Palace set-up that saw debutant Brennan Johnson and Yeremy Pino too often wander free in the No.10 domain. At one point, Newcastle centre-back Fabian Schar debated the concern with his dugout. The disallowed goal, though, raised the home tempo and volume.
There was a Lewis Hall blast palmed over by Henderson and, when Joelinton netted with a cool tuck just before the break, it was an assistant’s flag that denied them this time rather than a VAR check. Will Hughes should have scored at the other end in first-half stoppage-time but poked wide.
Palace boss Oliver Glasner, whose side are without a win in seven in all competitions, said: ’It was a performance where a point was possible but we have to solve the problem of conceding goals from set-plays. It is my job to find better solutions. Right now, I have to admit that I have completely failed.’
Where Glasner failed, Howe succeeded. He found a solution to a game that had become scrappy and stuck after half-time. He looked to his bench and he looked to his captain - between them, they scribed a winning finale. Guimaraes is the plot twist who Howe trusts above all else, and justifiably so.