Atsu rues points lost
CHRISTIAN ATSU said Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with struggling Bristol City was “two points dropped” in the promotion race.
Newcastle trailed to goals by Aaron Wilbraham and David Cotterill before a Korey Smith own-goal and Ciaran Clark salvaged it.
Magpies midfielder Atsu, below, whose side face leaders Brighton tomorrow, said: “It’s two points dropped. It’s a game we had to win.”
Bristol City manager Lee Johnson said: “We’ve had a lot of stick this week and it has not been nice, but we came away with a deserved point.”
Jamie Murphy says Brighton have no reason to feel inferior to Newcastle tomorrow.
Scorer Murphy was man of the match as they beat Reading 3-0, with Anthony Knockaert and Sam Baldock also on target.
“There’s no reason to be fearful of Newcastle,” said Murphy. “Every team in this division is a good side. It’s up to us to be on our game and be better than them.” Leeds’ Premier League dream is being fuelled by the nightmares striker Chris Wood is giving opposition defences, says team-mate Kyle Bartley. Wood scored his 20th league goal of the season as Leeds beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 to move up to fourth. Bartley said: “The way Chris bullies centre-halves, he’s an absolute nightmare to play against.” Aston Villa’s Leandro Bacuna faces an FA probe after his barge on a linesman earned him a red card in the 1-0 win over Derby. He reacted when a throw-in went against him. Bacuna said: “My passion took over. I wanted to win. I almost let the team down.”