It was starting to feel very England versus Argentina for Newcastle and their German manager, but this time the team in retreat held on. Hull did not have Lionel Messi, of course.At 2-0 up with 25 minutes to play, the hosts found reverse gear. They conceded ground, possession and a barrage of shots. There were 21 in total come the end. Their head coach, Matthias Jaissle, could do little to change the direction in which his players were headed.And so, during a close that felt as much like attack versus defence on the training ground, Newcastle kicked, blocked and tackled, and all of it from the discomfort of their own penalty area.They deserve some credit for that. When Mohamed-Ali Cho slotted a reply for Hull in the 67th minute, an equaliser felt inevitable. More so, you suspected the visitors would even go on to land a knockout blow.But home captain Malick Thiaw gloved up and it was he who led the resistance. The centre back and his team-mates were incredibly fortunate to emerge with three points, but amid an injury crisis and ahead of a 23-day break before they next play, there is no under-estimating the magnitude of the victory. They found a way, and they had to on the back of Monday’s 4-1 drubbing at Leeds. Lewis Hall put Newcastle 2-0 up after 25 minutes – but the hosts didn’t have it all their own way Matthias Jaissle’s side showed their mettle to hold onto victoryThe response to that loss was fast, direct and immediate. If Hull were expecting to meet a Newcastle side low on confidence, they found one high on energy. Not just that, they had ideas, too.Harvey Barnes was the architect behind most of them and, come the seventh minute, Newcastle had two goals and he had two assists.The first was a clever reverse pass that presented Joe Willock with an opening to fire on goal, and that he duly did, lashing into the bottom corner from 10 yards.Lewis Hall’s low finish was from a little further out and found the opposite corner, but that goal also owed as much to the endeavour of Barnes. The winger drove through the middle of the pitch and beyond three blue jerseys before slipping left to the scorer just inside the area. Joe Willock opened the scoring after only three minutes for the hosts Mohamed Ali-Cho scored a well-taken goal for the Tigers to set up a nervy finishWhat had threatened to be a nervy stadium, with a fragile home team within in, was suddenly a place of calm reassurance. Sean Steur, still just 18 years old, was running the game from midfield. Willock, alongside him, was doing the more literal running.Newcastle were in control, and then they weren’t. The drift had already set in when, on the stroke of half-time, they won a penalty and the chance to kill the game. It looked a soft award, the hand of Sorba Thomas clipping the heel of Jacob Murphy, causing him to stumble.But it was a gift they could not take. Yoane Wissa’s spot-kick was well placed but lacked the power to beat the dive of Tzolakis and the goalkeeper saved brilliantly.Hull took heart from that and the second half belonged to them. Mohamed Belloumi twice slammed over from good positions as the goalmouth became this city’s most densely populated space. It was chaos. For Newcastle, there was certainly no control.But, unlike England, they survived, even if only just.