NEWCASTLE moved back to the top of the Championship table as Daryl Murphy’s 79th-minute header ensured an injury to Dwight Gayle did not ruin what turned out to be an afternoon of high drama at Brentford.

Having fired the Magpies into a first-half lead, Gayle was forced off before the interval with a leg injury, with Murphy being introduced in his place.

Brentford equalised through Lasse Vibe, and with Isaac Hayden and Vurnon Anita also picking up injuries that forced them off, Newcastle were clinging on for most of the second half.

However, Murphy headed home Ayoze Perez’s cross with 11 minutes left to ensure they took full advantage of Brighton’s slip up at Preston to move a point clear at the top of the table. Significantly, they are also seven points ahead of third-placed Leeds United.

Having made a host of changes to the side for last weekend’s FA Cup third-round tie with Birmingham, it was no surprise to see Rafael Benitez reverting to his strongest line-up for the resumption of the league programme.

Gayle returned to lead the attack, and Newcastle’s leading scorer was immediately at the heart of the action, drilling in a second-minute shot that was deflected narrowly wide.

The Magpies dominated the opening quarter-of-an-hour, with Brentford’s defenders struggling to cope with the pace of their opponents’ counter-attacking.

Jamaal Lascelles headed wide from a corner, before Brentford goalkeeper Daniel Bentley made his first save of the game to keep out a low side-footed effort from Gayle after Hayden had released the striker down the inside-left channel.

Gayle’s movement was proving a major problem to Brentford’s back five, and having timed his run on to Perez’s ball perfectly, in the 20th minute, Newcastle’s number nine duly fired his side ahead.

Brentford’s defenders were appealing for offside as Gayle raced down the left, but the flag rightly stayed down and he powered into the area before lashing a shot past Bentley’s left hand.

It was Gayle’s 20th league goal of the season, making him the first Newcastle player since Alan Shearer to achieve such a feat.

Unfortunately, from a Newcastle perspective, the goal was Gayle’s last meaningful act before he was forced off with an injury that will be a major source of concern given the Magpies’ lack of attacking options.

Having snatched at a shot that flew over the crossbar, Gayle slumped to the floor requiring treatment. It was hard to tell whether the problem related to his knee or the muscles in the back of his leg, but either way he was immediately withdrawn.

Murphy replaced him, but Newcastle’s control of the game disappeared along with Gayle. From a position where they looked like scoring at will, the Magpies spent the last 15 minutes of the first half repelling a series of increasingly threatening Brentford attacks.

Karl Darlow made two excellent saves to deny Vibe, who stole behind the Newcastle defence far too easily as he raced on to through balls from Josh McEachran and Harlee Dean.

The second save, which was made with his legs, was especially impressive, with Newcastle once again lacking an effective defensive presence at the base of midfield. Jonjo Shelvey, who is available for Wednesday’s FA Cup replay with Birmingham after serving a five-game suspension, cannot come back quickly enough.

Darlow’s efforts meant Newcastle were ahead at the interval, but the goalkeeper was at least partially culpable as Brentford equalised within seven minutes of the restart.

Having made a mess of trying to clear a Brentford corner, Darlow recovered well to make a reflex save from Andreas Bjelland. However, Vibe reacted quickest to the rebound, and slotted home a low finish from the edge of the six-yard box.

The hosts went close again shortly after, with Newcastle’s vulnerability from set-pieces once again apparent as Dean out-jumped everyone to meet a corner, only for his near-post header to drift wide of the far post.

The visitors suffered another injury blow shortly after the hour mark, with Hayden having to hobble from the field, and were breathing a huge sigh of relief when Brentford thought they had claimed the lead two minutes later.

Romaine Saywers released Vibe behind DeAndre Yedlin, but the striker’s chipped shot hit the inside of the right-hand post. The ball spun along the goalline, and while Brentford’s players thought it had crossed the line, Jamaal Lascelles was able to hook clear. Had goalline technology been available to referee Chris Kavanagh, it would have been interesting to see what the result would have been.

Newcastle were on the back foot, and their injury worries intensified even further in the 70th minute when Anita, who had only been on the field for eight minutes as Hayden’s replacement, was forced off on a stretcher.

However, their afternoon was to take a turn for the better with 11 minutes left. Colback released Perez down the left-hand side, and the Spaniard produced a smart cross into the box with the outside of his foot.

Murphy had barely had a sniff of a chance before that, but having stolen in front of his marker, he glanced a superb header into the bottom right-hand corner to claim his second goal in the space of two games.

Newcastle had to survive a remarkable nine minutes of stoppage time, and were indebted to Darlow as he made a fantastic reflex save to deny Jota after the substitute wriggled into space in the penalty area.

Brentford (5-3-2): Bentley; Colin, Egan (Hofmann 87), Dean, Bjelland, Field; Yennaris, Woods, McEachran (Jota 80); Sawyers (Clarke 90), Vibe.

Subs (not used): Bonham (gk), Barbet, Kerschbaumer, Hogan.

Newcastle (4-2-3-1): Darlow; Yedlin, Lascelles, Clark, Dummett; Hayden (Anita 62 (Hanley 70)), Colback; Ritchie, Perez, Gouffran; Gayle (Murphy 28).

Subs (not used): Sels (gk), Lazaar, Sterry, Ameobi.