Norwich deny 10-man Newcastle first win of the season
NEWCASTLE, United Kingdom: Teemu Pukki denied 10-man Newcastle a first win all season as Norwich earned a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park on Tuesday, but wasted a huge chance to deepen the Magpies’ relegation fears.
Newcastle were a man short for more than 80 minutes after Ciaran Clark saw red for pulling down Pukki.
However, Norwich were largely wasteful in trying to make that advantage count and fell behind to Callum Wilson’s penalty on the hour mark.
Pukki smashed home on the volley to equalise 11 minutes from time and Norwich should have claimed a massive three points in stoppage time when Martin Dubravka saved from Pierre Lees-Melou.
A point does little for either side’s hopes of beating the drop as Leeds’ 1-0 win over Crystal Palace moved them five points clear of the bottom three.
Newcastle are six points off safety in their bid to minimise the damage before they can turn to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund to strengthen in the January transfer window.
Howe was on the sideline as Newcastle boss at St James’ Park for the first time, having missed the 3-3 draw with Brentford 10 days ago after testing positive for coronavirus.
The former Bournemouth boss could not have asked for a worse start to a crucial clash between the bottom two before kick-off when Clark inexplicably hauled down Pukki as he threatened to burst clear on goal.
“I felt the players showed real resilience, which we’re going to need for the upcoming matches,” said Howe. “If we can do that 11 against 11, we’re definitely going to win some matches.”