Eddie Howe was left frustrated with the final result after Newcastle United dropped points once again in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.
The Magpies raced into a first half lead, but conceded two second half goals including a stoppage-time winner by Jean-Philippe Mateta, which dented their hopes of an European finish.
Newcastle have now dropped 25 points from winning positions this season, five more than any other side as their late season collapse continued.
“I mean, those numbers are incredible, really. It’s blighted our season”, Howe reacted to his side’s defeat after the match.
“The fact that we haven’t been able to not just consolidate really good passages of the game, but go on and score more goals and continue to attack.
“I’ve said many times that’s not the tactical instruction we give the players. We don’t want to go 1-0 up and change to a mentality of defending, but we’ve done it, so I can’t say it hasn’t happened”, the Englishman added.
Will Osula opened the scoring in the first half, but Crystal Palace’s second half introduction of Mateta swayed the game in their favour.
The Frenchman equalized in the 80th minute, before grabbing the winner from the spot in stoppage-time to seal the win.
“But then if you are going to defend, we have to defend better than we did and we gave a few chances, but we’re still vulnerable towards the end of the game and that’s hugely disappointing”, Howe continued.
“We were in total control of the game with 60 minutes to go. Then their substitutes made the difference, Mateta in particular. He proved to be a difficult customer for us to deal with.
“A defeat is really harsh on us because we controlled the first half and phases of the second half”, the Newcastle boss concluded.
Newcastle will hope yo bounce back to form when they face Bournemouth in the Premier League next weekend.
Olakitan is a young writer with a strong passion for sports, having gained experience with IndyPress and Nimelssa Press. His enthusiasm for sports inspired him to cover events both within his school and beyond. With a deep understanding of the game and a refined skillset, he brings sports coverage to a broad, global audience in a way that’s engaging and accessible.
