A controversial penalty earned Newcastle United a point against a Fulham side who are looking better every week.

A Matt Ritchie own goal was cancelled out just after the hour mark as Callum Wilson dispatched from the spot for his eighth goal of the season.

Joachim Andersen was sent off for the foul which resulted in the spot-kick after Graham Scott was told to look at the pitchside monitor as the defender was last man.

Story of the game

Fulham opened the scoring right on the stroke of half-time through a Ritchie own goal.

Wilson levelled the scoring from the spot after 65 minutes following Joachim Andersen's foul and subsequent red card.

The first chance of the game as Temitayo Aina picked out Tom Cairney in the six-yard box but his half volley was well blocked by Federico Fernandez.

Fulham recycled the corner and got another cross into the box which found Ademola Lookman unmarked 10-yards out but his effort was straight down the throat of Karl Darlow.

Andre-Frank Anguissa was brought down on the edge of the area but saw Bobby Decordova-Reid get onto the end of the loose ball and was denied superbly by Darlow one-on-one just five-yards out.

The referee pulled it back for a free-kick right on the edge of the area but Lookman's free-kick was blocked well by the Newcastle wall, but that one-on-one was the best chance of the opening half an hour.

Another chance squandered by Decordova-Reid as he found himself in-behind the Newcastle backline once again just after the half-hour but he attempted a volley which he got all wrong, making no contact with the ball.

A Fulham corner was met by the head of Tosin Adarabioyo at the back post which bounced up and hit Ritchie in the face leaving Darlow with no chance as the ball bobbled into an open net.

It was what the visitors deserved after a solid first-half performance where the put on a passing showcase for Newcastle at times, moving the ball quickly with plenty of runs off the ball.

Newcastle were handed a massive lifeline as Andersen lost track of Wilson's run before he pulled him back in the box and being the last man he was given his marching orders with half an hour left to play.

Wilson had to wait a long time before taking spot-kick but was unfazed and calmly slotted it down the middle as Alphonse Areola went to his right. 

Fulham had been the better side at the beginning of the second half but found themselves on level terms with 25 minutes to go and down to 10-men.

Newcastle really struggled to penetrate the Fulham defence despite having a numerical advantage as well as 10 men Fulham having more possession than the Magpies.

Takeaways

Newcastle continue to be too slow

Too often Newcastle players were taking 2-4 extra touches before passing the ball which was the reason they struggled to gather any momentum.

It was slow and sloppy in midfield as they got passed off the park by Fulham and even struggled to gain possession when playing against fewer men.

It's a huge problem for Steve Bruce who saw his side have the same faults against Leeds United midweek. Not being able to get the ball into Wilson quickly enough and in dangerous areas has been Newcastle's main pitfall all campaign.

Fulham looking good to beat the drop

It's still early days, however, Scott Parker seems to be slowly changing the mentality at Fulham. No longer do they seem to have a soft underbelly.

They don't keep the ball for the sake of it, they move it with purpose and with real zip. They're punching the ball into dangerous areas where they can hurt the opposition.

Fulham looked comfortable all evening despite going down to 10-men which will have given Parker and their fans confidence going forward.