THE Hawthorns is the highest football ground in England, so perhaps it was only fitting that Newcastle United pulled off a notable uphill task as they completed a remarkable second-half recovery mission at the home of West Brom.

Trailing by two goals shortly after the interval, the Magpies were heading for what would have been a fifth successive defeat. On the back of last weekend’s heavy home loss to Watford, some searching questions about their ability to stave off the threat of relegation were about to be asked.

Yet for all that Rafael Benitez might concede his side lacks top-flight ability in some areas, he has never questioned his players’ heart or commitment. On Monday, at his pre-match press conference, he was urging everyone to stick together. Twenty-four hours later, and his players followed his instructions to the letter.

Matt Ritchie was the catalyst for the recovery, delivering a pinpoint corner for Ciaran Clark to head home from close range before drilling in the 83rd-minute free-kick that saw Salomon Rondon divert the ball into his own net.

The goals cancelled out strikes from Hal Robson-Kanu and Sam Field, and delivered a powerful rebuttal to accusations that Newcastle have lost the desire and resolve that briefly saw them gate-crash the top six earlier this season.

They could easily have collapsed when Field doubled West Brom’s lead at the start of the second half, but their counter-attacking capabilities came to the fore late on and there was a collective desire to dig out a point. No matter what does or doesn’t happen in January, if they continue to display similar spirit in the remainder of the season, they will have a decent chance of achieving their primary objective of avoiding the drop.

Benitez’s much-changed line-up lacked fluency at times – the Spaniard made five alterations from the Watford defeat – but his positive substitutions made a difference in the second half. For all he might bemoan his lack of spending power, he still presides over a squad with a decent amount of talent.

His most notable selection decision came in goal, with Rob Elliot paying the price for some shaky recent displays as he found himself dropped to the bench. In came Karl Darlow, with his first Premier League appearance of the season coming on the same ground that saw him make an unsuccessful top-flight debut in December 2015. Back then, he let a tame Darren Fletcher header squirm through his grasp as Newcastle lost 1-0. Two years on, and he looked much more assured despite conceding two goals.

Benitez’s changes were enacted in an attempt to make Newcastle more compact and organised than they had been at the weekend, and last night’s performance was more reminiscent of some of Newcastle’s most effective displays in the first two months of the season.

Mikel Merino and Isaac Hayden formed a protective screen in front of the backline, while Ritchie and Jacob Murphy worked tirelessly to protect their full-backs. However, it only ever takes one defensive lapse to undo a host of good work, and that duly arrived in first-half stoppage time.

Up until then, Newcastle had looked defensively secure, even if they struggled to create anything to test Ben Foster in the West Brom goal before the break.

Ritchie saw a shot deflect narrowly wide after he cut in from the right, and almost forced a comical mistake from the Baggies backline when he delivered a teasing cross from the flank quarter-of-an-hour later.

With Foster seemingly poised to gather Ritchie’s delivery, Ahmed Hegazi headed the ball out of the goalkeeper’s hands. For a split second, it looked as though the defender had found his own net, but to his credit, he recovered his composure to clear before Joselu could pounce.

That was pretty much that in terms of Newcastle’s first-half attacking, with the visitors’ first shot on target not coming until ten minutes before the break. Even that was a tame effort, with Hayden firing a long-range half-volley straight at Foster.

Darlow hadn’t been tested either at that stage, although he was almost beaten midway through the first half by a moment of magic from Rondon.

Shrugging off Merino to win possession, Rondon nonchalantly curled in a 25-yard effort that looped over Darlow but clipped the top of the crossbar. It was a sublime piece of skill, largely out of keeping with the rest of the game to that point.

Rondon also delivered the 43rd-minute cross that saw Robson-Kanu stab wide at the front post, and while West Brom took time to find their stride, they gradually became more threatening as the first half wore on. With the clock ticking into stoppage-time, they made their pressure pay.

DeAndre Yedlin had been all at sea as Watford ran riot on Saturday, and having defended resolutely for the opening 45 minutes, the American was undone again as he switched off with the interval beckoning.

Kieran Gibbs got on the wrong side of him down the left-hand side, and when the former Arsenal full-back stood up a cross to the back post, Robson-Kanu eased ahead of Chancel Mbemba to head home. After they had defended manfully for the rest of the first half, it was an infuriatingly simple goal for Newcastle to concede.

It also meant Benitez’s game plan was out of the window, although it took the Newcastle boss to the 64th minute before he turned to his bench. By that stage, both sides had scored a second-half goal.

Merino came close to scoring for the Magpies at the start of the second half – his fierce first-time volley was well saved by Foster – but Newcastle’s defensive frailties were once again exposed as West Brom doubled their lead in the 56th minute.

Yet again, Yedlin was at fault, with the American losing his marker as Matt Phillips whipped in an inviting cross from the right. Field pulled off Yedlin at the back post, and beat Darlow with a sliding first-time volley.

It was a long way back for the Magpies at that stage, but to their credit, they reduced the arrears within three minutes of going two goals behind.

Ritchie’s delivery from set-pieces has been a key feature of Newcastle’s season, and the Scotsman got another one on the money as he swung a corner into the six-yard box. Clark rose highest, and planted a powerful downward header past Foster.

Ayoze Perez strayed offside as he looked poised to reach substitute Rolando Aarons’ cross as Newcastle searched for an equaliser, but it was another set-piece intervention from Ritchie that enabled them to draw level with seven minutes left.

James McClean’s foul on Yedlin enabled Ritchie to drill in a free-kick from the right-hand edge of the box, and Rondon flicked out a foot to divert the ball past a helpless Foster.