MAGPIES LET IT SLIP AFTER JONJO MISS
despite my age. I certainly feel it during the matches. This was tough.
“We weren’t good for 70 minutes but once again I have to praise the attitude, the spirit to come back. I always believe we are good enough.”
After a bright start by the hosts Newcastle went ahead from their first meaningful attack.
Just 17 minutes had gone when Shelvey sent Matt Ritchie racing down the right and the Scot – on his first return to Bournemouth since leaving for St James’ Park in 2016 – fired in a low cross which Begovic and Steve Cook made a mess of and Gayle cheekily back-heeled into the net.
And the Cherries, hammered 4-1 at Huddersfield in their previous game, went off at halftime with boos ringing in their ears after Begovic let Ayoze Perez’s cross go through his hands and under his body to give Gayle another one-yard tap-in on the stroke of the break.
Atsu, Perez and then Shelvey, with that head-in-your-hands miss, all blew chances to wrap up three points for the Toon Army.
And a minute after the last big-missed opportunity Bournemouth went up the other end, Josh King combined with Lewis Cook and impressive half-time sub Adam Smith smashed the ball in off the underside of the bar.
And then, with a minute of normal time left, Bournemouth were rewarded for their late rally when Gosling finished off a move he started by side-footing in Nathan Ake’s pass to spark wild celebrations. ■■Bournemouth have gone eight Premier League home games without a clean sheet, their longest-ever run without a shutout at the Vitality Stadium in the competition. ■■Newcastle bagged two first-half goals away from home for the first time in the Premier League since March 2014 against Hull. ■■Mohamed Diamé made his 200th Premier League appearance, becoming only the second Senegalese player to hit this milestone after El Hadji Diouf (243). ■■Dwight Gayle ended a run of 11 Premier League appearances without a goal, via his first Premier League brace since May 2016. ■■Gayle has now netted 28 league goals since the start of last season, more than twice as many as any other player for Newcastle (Matt Ritchie next on 13).