'Capitao': Unlikely Newcastle hero praised by teammates following Spurs win

Unlikely Newcastle United hero Mark Gillespie has been praised for his performance in the Magpies penalty win against Tottenham Hotspur in Melbourne yesterday.

The 32-year-old saved Bryan Gil's penalty on the way to a 5-4 win in the penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes.

Gillespie, who hasn't made a Premier League appearance since joining in 2020. He made three Carabao Cup appearances in the 2020/21 season where Newcastle reached the quarter-finals before losing out to Brentford.

The Newcastle-born keeper took the captain's armband ahead of the shootout.

Image: Getty

Gillespie's social media post had many Newcastle players in the comments

Gillespie took to social media to post about the result.

He said: "Canny cameo at the MCG! Amazing to see all the support here in Melbourne from the Mags."

In the comments section, several Newcastle players voiced their praise for him.

Jacob Murphy said: "Skipper! proud of you bro."

Bruno Guimaraes, who also took the captain's armband simply referred to Gillespie as "Capitao"

Joe Willock, Elliot Anderson and Anthony Gordon all called him "skipper" with the likes of Harrison Ashby and Kieran Trippier all sending emojis to celebrate his performance.

Eddie Howe praises Gillespie's "attitude to training"

In a post-match interview, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe came in and cut an impromptu promo putting Gillespie over.

On Gillespie, Howe said: "The work this guy has put in this season has just been incredible. Too often we always talk about the players that are playing, but never enough about the players that are not playing but contribute so much. Mark is one of those. His attitude to training is ridiculous every day."