Newcastle 1-0 Wolves, Premier League: Howe Hails ‘Massive’ First Win Of Season For Magpies

Eddie Howe described Newcastle United's first Premier League victory of the season as "massive" after his side battled to a 1-0 win over Wolves on Saturday.

Newcastle's breakthrough came courtesy of summer arrival Nick Woltemade, who scored the winner on his debut following his big-money move from Stuttgart last month. 

Indeed, Woltemade became just the third German to score on his Premier League debut, after Jurgen Klinsmann in August 1994 and Ilkay Gundogan in September 2016.

The 23-year-old's arrival came following a drawn-out and controversial saga with last year's top scorer Alexander Isak, who joined champions Liverpool on deadline day. 

Woltemade wasted little time in getting himself off the mark, rising highest to meet Jacob Murphy's teasing delivery to the back post in the 29th minute for Howe's side. 

Newcastle are unbeaten in their last eight top-flight games against Wolves (W6 D2), winning each of the last four in a row, with Howe pleased to get off the mark in 2025-26.

"This is a massive, massive win for us," Howe said to Sky Sports. "The lads performed very well.

"Hard-fought, disciplined, we could have scored more, but we'll take the win however it came."

As well as his goal, Woltemade ended the match with eight duels won, more than any other Newcastle player, with his overall display pleasing his manager. 

"[Wolves] put us under pressure in the first five minutes, but after that we got control of the game. A great cross from Murphy and great to see Nick score," Howe added. 

"He is a very good finisher, very clever. He can get a lot of goals with his head too."

Howe also acknowledged the importance of the result at St. James' Park, having failed to win any of their last five Premier League games ahead of taking on Wolves. 

But they were worthy of their win, ending the game with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.5 from their 16 shots to Wolves' 0.53 from their eight attempts at Nick Pope's net.

Newcastle also secured their 100th 1-0 win in the Premier League, becoming the eighth club to reach this milestone, with Howe believing the result is a solid foundation to build on ahead of the start of their Champions League campaign. 

"We needed the win. With Barcelona on the horizon you don't get many chances in this league, but we're happy with the three points today," Howe said. 

Woltemade was also pleased to mark his debut with a goal, telling Sky Sports: "It was a great debut - can't be better.

"We won, I scored, we did well. It's really important that we won.

"Murph's just told me be ready for the cross and it came to me beautifully. I didn't know what to do [after I scored]. I was just happy."