Newcastle's Krul delighted with Metalist heroics despite injury scare

22-Feb-2013 11:45:00 PM

The Dutch goalkeeper made a number of crucial saves to ensure the Magpies' passage to the Europa League last 16, and afterwards admitted it was "nice to be important" again

Newcastle United goalkeeper Tim Krul has revealed he was delighted to put in a virtuoso performance against Metalist Kharkiv on Thursday evening, despite picking up an injury in the closing stages.

Krul pulled off a succession of important and impressive saves to keep out the Ukrainian giants and ensure the Magpies' passage into the last 16, but left the stadium on crutches following a late collision with Jonathan Cristaldo.

Scans will determine whether the Dutchman can feature against Southampton on Sunday, but in the meantime he is determined to revel in his team's triumph and his own accomplished display.

"I'm really pleased, of course," Krul told the club's official website. "It's nice to be important and to make a contribution to the team.

"We defended well - there were some great blocks and I think we showed some of the qualities that we did last season with everybody working for each other.

"Everybody had to put a lot of hard graft in. We showed a lot of spirit towards the end but it's worth it, definitely. I think we did really well today.

"We knew if we scored one it was going to be difficult for them to come back because they had to score two and we're really pleased to go through.

"It's massive for the club to be in the last 16 of the Europa League. I think that's where we belong. And it's great for the club like Newcastle to be in the draw for the last 16.

"We're going to Anzhi [Makhachkala] now and that's a great prospect which I'm really looking forward to."

Shola Ameobi's second-half penalty was the only goal in the game - and over both legs - which was enough to secure their passage into the last 16 at Metalist's expense.