Bruce in a real SPOT of bother
WARD-PROWSE LATE PENALTY PILES PRESSURE ON TOON BOSS
THE heat is on Steve Bruce after James Ward-prowse’s injury-time penalty denied Newcastle their first win of the season.
And next up is a trip to Manchester United and a probable date with Cristiano Ronaldo!
Allan Saint-maximin had briefly turned the Gallowgate jeers into cheers with a 90th-minute goal to seemingly ease the pressure on under-fire Bruce, rifling home after sub Ryan Fraser’s shot had been hacked off the line.
But in the dying seconds, Geordie old-boy Adam Armstrong was hacked down by Jamaal Lascelles as he closed in on goal and after a VAR check, Ward-prowse rescued a deserved point for the Saints.
Moments before Saint-maximin’s goal, a section of the crowd had turned on Bruce for the second time in the afternoon and while he continues to have the backing of Mike Ashley, these are tough times for the 60-year-old.
“They are entitled to their opinion” he said of those fans calling for him to be sacked. “I find the whole thing disappointing but the first-half performance was not good enough so I will accept it.
“We showed more intent in the second and maybe did enough to win the game but it’s a disappointing afternoon all round.”
Callum Wilson had put the Toon ahead on 55 minutes stooping to meet Jacob Murphy’s knockback with a brave header.
But Southampton were level when Mo Elyounoussi followed up his hattrick in the 8-0 midweek thrashing of Newport with the equaliser on his first Premier League start in two years.
It looked in vain when Saintmaximin struck but the Saints avoided a seventh-straight away defeat with that Ward-prowse spot-kick.
“That’s the least we deserved,” said manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.
“We had so many chances, it could have been all three but after scoring in the 93rd minute, we’ll take it.
“We’ve played good games here in the past and never got anything but have shown our fans we fight until the end.”
At Aston Villa a week ago, Newcastle fell behind to an early contender for goal of the season when Danny Ings scored with a bicycle kick.
They escaped a similar fate on this occasion when in the 23rd minute, Moussa Djenepo was guilty of one of the misses of this or any other season, somehow spooning over from close range from Tino Livramento’s cutback.
It capped a period of Saints’ domination which sparked boos from the frustrated crowd.
Newcastle’s spartan game-plan early on revolved around trying to release Wilson down the channels or relying on Saint-maximin’s dancing feet transporting them upfield.
Neither tactic was particularly successful as the visitors bossed territory and possession.
Djenepo wasted another clear-cut opportunity, delaying his shot too long after being cleverly set up by the impressive Armstrong.
There were flickers of life from the Magpies as half-time approached. Murphy’s free-kick skimmed the top of the net after Saint-maximin had been tripped and then the Frenchman rolled a pass to Wilson whose drive just cleared the bar.
And then moments before the interval, only an excellent reflex save by Alex Mccarthy prevented Wilson finding the net with a bullet header from Sean Longstaff ’s corner.
Newcastle were markedly improved after the break though five minutes before Wilson struck, Djenepro had another chance, curling his effort wide.
And Southampton didn’t panic after going behind.
Hasenhuttl turned to his bench for a response and it was substitute Nathan Redmond who crossed for Elyounoussi to slide home their first equaliser before Ward-prose ensured a share of the spoils.