MURPHY’S Law states that if something can go wrong, it will. For much of an action-packed afternoon at Brentford, it certainly applied to Newcastle United.

First, Dwight Gayle was forced off with a hamstring injury, just eight minutes after applying the finish that enabled him to become the first Newcastle player to score 20 league goals in a season since Alan Shearer. Then, Isaac Hayden followed him to the touchline after damaging his groin. Then, eight minutes after replacing Hayden, Vurnon Anita was stretchered off with a serious ankle injury. It was that kind of day.

Having threatened to put Brentford to the sword in a one-sided opening, the Magpies were in danger of throwing away the opportunity to leapfrog Brighton and move back to the top of the table. So who better to disprove Murphy’s Law than a man called Murphy himself?

Daryl Murphy knows all about things going wrong after an injury-ravaged start to his Newcastle career, but having opened his account in the FA Cup draw with Birmingham City, the Republic of Ireland international made it two goals in a week as he headed home Ayoze Perez’s inviting cross to secure his side’s first win of 2017.

Signed from Ipswich Town to provide a Plan B, Murphy delivered exactly that. The extent of Gayle’s hamstring injury should become clear within the next few days, but if the striker is to be sidelined for up to a month, Rafael Benitez can at least turn to a replacement who is tried and tested in the heat of Championship battle.

“I always knew I’d get a chance at some stage – it was just how long it would take that I didn’t know,” said Murphy, who scored 27 Championship goals in the 2014-15 season. “I just had to make sure I was fit and available, and ready to come on at any given time. I had to be ready to start whenever, and that’s been the case in the last couple of weeks. Long may it continue.

“I always knew I’d get a chance to show what I could do. I wasn’t signed for nothing – the gaffer knows I have experience in this league, and I’ve done it here over the years.

“He knew that with my experience, and the fact I can score goals in this league, I could add something to the squad, something different to what we have. It’s just been a case of waiting for a chance, but now I’ve had that, and I’ve chipped in with a couple of goals.”

Had Murphy been at the start of his career rather than coming towards its end, he might well have become frustrated as he spent the first four months of his Newcastle career on the substitutes’ bench or in the treatment room.

It cannot be easy to see a high-profile move result in a situation where you cannot even make it into the match-day squad, but Murphy never anticipated being a first-team regular in a squad that also boasts Gayle, not to mention Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ayoze Perez.

Good things come to those who wait, and having continued to give his all on the training ground, Murphy is ready to reap his rewards. He will lead the line in Wednesday’s FA Cup replay, and can also expect to start Saturday’s Championship home game with Rotherham.

“I know how football works,” said Murphy. “If I’d been a young lad, signing for a club like Newcastle, I would probably have been expecting to play from the start. That’s just the way it is these days – young lads come through, and they think they’re going to be playing from the word go.

“I knew that wasn’t going to be the case though. When I signed, I knew I wasn’t going to be just walking into the team because you look at some of the players they already had, and I knew they were probably going to be playing ahead of me.

“I came in as third or fourth-choice striker, and I knew it was going to take time. I just came in, got my head down, trained with the lads and tried to settle in. To be fair, the gaffer has always been brilliant with me. He’s always told me to take it easy, not get worried, and just make sure I’m ready because I would be needed. That was the message, and thankfully a chance has come.”

Saturday’s chance came when Gayle was forced off shortly before the half-hour mark, although Newcastle’s leading goalscorer had already provided another stirring reminder of his qualities before his hamstring gave way.

Daniel Bentley clung on to Gayle’s seventh-minute strike after the striker galloped into the inside-left channel, but the Brentford goalkeeper was unable to stage a repeat when Perez released Gayle into the same area of the field 13 minutes later. Having powered his way into the area, Gayle lashed home a fierce finish to make it 20 goals in 22 Championship appearances.

Had he remained on the field, Newcastle’s counter-attacking capabilities might have cut Brentford to threads, but his departure disrupted the visitors’ rhythm and Brentford finished the first half with a flurry of chances.

Karl Darlow saved two efforts from Lasse Vibe, but was beaten when the Brentford striker fired in a third effort seven minutes after the interval. Having failed to deal with a corner, Darlow saved from Andreas Bjelland, but was powerless to prevent Vibe slotting home the rebound.

Suddenly, Newcastle’s grip on the game had disappeared, and with Jonjo Shelvey’s absence depriving the Magpies of a controlling presence at the heart of midfield, Brentford threatened to claim the lead.

Harlee Dean glanced a header wide, and Vibe thought he had scored when he dinked a chipped finish against the inside of the right-hand post, with the ball trickling along the goalline before Jamaal Lascelles hacked clear.

Murphy’s header swung the pendulum back in Newcastle’s favour, but the visitors still had to survive a nervous nine minutes of stoppage time, featuring another smart save from Darlow to deny Jota, before they could celebrate their return to the top of the table.

“The character of the team was the main thing for me,” said Benitez. “We started well in the game, but then lost a little bit of control.

“Then we had problems, losing Gayle, Hayden and Anita, but the players showed the character that you expect from a winning team that wants to go up.

“We believe in the players, and you could see the character from the players fighting for the ball at the end. If you are at the top of the table, it is even better, but it depends on Brighton in the future. We can just keep doing our best, winning games, and that’s it.”