Saturday's 0-0 draw with Fulham was less than that for which manager Chris Hughton, his players and the club's supporters had hoped, but it was at least an improvement on their 2-1 midweek defeat by Blackburn, their third in the Premier League at St James' Park so far this season. It is a measure of the almost surreal world in which Newcastle seem to operate that they will head for Bolton, the division's latest unlikely high-flyers, more confident of returning with a result than they are at home. For the record, only eight of the 18 points the Magpies have collected to date have been won on Tyneside with victories at West Ham, Everton and Arsenal and a draw at Wolves, accounting for the rest. In the circumstances, the stalemate against a Fulham side which has not won a league game on the road since the opening day of last season may not be a big deal, although Krul was philosophical. He said: "Chris said he wanted a reaction from us after Wednesday, and I think we were better than Fulham, but sometimes you have to be happy with a draw. "Fulham are a good side and they have some great players and we must be happy. To be honest, we had our opportunities and we worked our socks off. "We showed the passion and we had our opportunities, but it wasn't to be and I would rather take a point than lose, as we did on Wednesday. "We have to be happy with what we did. We have conceded some sloppy goals this season, so to get the first clean sheet at home is always a good thing. "The form we are in, we showed again on Saturday we are capable of competing with any team, and I am looking forward to going to Bolton."
