SO HOWE DID THAT HAPPEN?

Toon Army shocked by surrender

VITAL STATS

NEWCASTLE

THIS wasn’t in the brochure when the Saudis splashed out £300million on one of football’s sleeping giants.

Nor was it in the script when the mega-rich owners sanctioned a multi-million pound January spending spree designed to catapult Newcastle away from the danger zone.

It all looked so rosy for the Magpies four minutes after half-time when Allan

Saint-Maximin produced a moment of magic to break the deadlock.

The Toon Army let out an almighty roar to celebrate the goal that lifted Newcastle out of the bottom three for the first time since last year’s takeover.

But Geordie joy was fleeting.

When Joao Pedro met sub Kiko Femenia’s right-wing cross with a superbly executed header on 88 minutes, a deathly hush descended on St James’ Park as grim reality hit home.

Failure to beat a Watford side who had lost their previous seven games has dramatically fuelled fears that the world’s wealthiest club could be playing in the Championship next season.

Newcastle have now dropped 21 points from winning positions and boss Eddie Howe admits this latest setback could have a negative effect in the dressing room

“We know it is damaging because this was an opportunity to get one over a direct rival,” he said.

“I hope it does not leave mental scars. How damaging it is, the future will decide. There was a lot to like before we scored but then we invited pressure and brought them back into the game.

“We lost our attacking threat and that is down to a lack of confidence through not winning enough games.”

Watford should have levelled in the minutes after Saint-Maximin struck with Martin Dubravka bravely foiling Joshua King and exToon midfielder Moussa Sissoko firing horribly wide after a mistake by Jamaal

Lascelles. But just when it looked as if they would be swapping places with Newcastle, Pedro pounced with the goal that stops the Hornets’ rot.

“I am happy but I want more and believe they can give me more,” said manager Claudio Ranieri. “A draw was the least we deserved. They had one chance in the second half and we had two or three before the goal.”

Despite no early goal, both sides had shown during the opening skirmishes why clean sheets have been at a premium this season.

Jonjo Shelvey almost gave away a sixth-minute penalty when he hacked down Juraj Kucka just outside the box with Emmanuel Dennis smacking the resulting free-kick against the wall.

Newcastle, however, were unable to take advantage during an opening period in which they dominated territory but were invariably let down by poor decision-making or a careless final ball.

While there was no doubting the quality of Saint-Maximin’s fifth goal of the season, Watford will undoubtedly see it as a self-inflicted wound.

There was no danger when Jeremy Ngakia had the ball just inside the touchline but he allowed the Frenchman to tackle him and could only watch as Saint-Maximin cut inside before beating Ben Foster with a smart finish.

The goal only momentarily eased nerves inside the ground with Watford having the better chances late on and deservedly equalising with two minutes left.

SHOT AT GLORY Saint-Maximin fires Newcastle into lead, but it wasn’t to last GOING NOWHERE Howe has yet to see any improvement WATFORD 1 .............. Shots on Target ........... 5 8 ............. Shots off Target ........... 6 3 ............... Blocked Shots ............ 7 4 ..................... Corners ................... 6 13 ....................... Fouls .................... 13 1 ...................... Offsides ................... 1 3 ................. Yellow Cards .............. 2 0 ................... Red Cards ................ 0 75.6 ..... Passing Success %...78.7 81 .................. Duels Won ............. 68 54.4 ....... Duel Success % ..... 45.6 27 .................... Tackles .................. 19 63.0 ........ Tackles Won % ...... 63.2 52 ............. Possession % .......... 48 59.5 ....... Territorial Adv % .... 40.5 405 ............ Total Passes .......... 381 21 ............... Total Crosses ............ 15 161 ................ Lost Balls ............. 139 53 ................ Recoveries .............. 57 61.9 .......... 1st Half Poss % ....... 38.1 41.2 ........ 2nd Half Poss % ..... 58.8 PED KEEPS HIS HEAD Joao Pedro nods the late leveller for battling Watford

GLOVE A LATE GOAL Joao Pedro takes the acclaim for his 88th-minute equaliser