Bruce’s blast at ‘soft’ penalties as he defends Schar decision

STEVE Bruce criticised referee Craig Pawson and VAR after his side gave away two penalties in a woeful second-half collapse against Watford.

The Magpies’ manager admitted his side’s defending was ‘naive’ at times but felt both spot-kicks were ‘soft’ and fumed that the video official did not intervene.

Hornets’ captain Troy Deeney buried both penalties to overturn Dwight Gayle’s first-half goal and give the hosts a valuable 2-1 success at Vicarage Road.

The result means the Magpies have slumped to two defeats in a week and are at risk of ending a decent season with a whimper rather than a flourish.

After the game a disappointed Bruce said: “From where I was, the first penalty looked soft and they are the big defining moments in games.

“To lose that game on two penalties, the way they were, you could say we are a bit naive but they were both really, really soft.

“When they are given against us you do scratch your head at times and think what is the point of having the Video Assistant Referee technology?”

The Magpies went ahead through a poacher’s goal from Gayle, who stole in at the back post to convert Federico Fernandez’s flick-on beyond a stranded Ben Foster.

Despite Danny Welbeck hitting the post, United had the better of the first half but struggled to build momentum after the break as Nigel Pearson’s men ramped up the pressure.

However, Bruce thinks the turnaround was as much down to Pawson’s decisions as it was anything else.

He added: “I thought the first-half performance was very, very good.

“The second half they are given a huge lifeline.

“I will let other people make their mind up but the penalties looked remarkably soft to me.”

United again started with Switzerland centre-back Fabian Schar in midfield, despite having Matty Longstaff and Nabil Bentaleb on the bench.

Longstaff has been linked with a move away from Newcastle with his contract up soon while Bentaleb was poor in the 5-0 thrashing at Manchester City in midweek.

While one of Schar’s main assets is his ability on the ball, he has struggled to make an impact higher up the pitch in the last two games.

Bruce insists the experiment is working to his satisfaction as he looks to make do in the absence of Sean Longstaff and Isaac Hayden.

The Magpies’ head coach said: “I thought we needed Fabian Schar’s physicality and I think it worked in the first half.

“Him playing in midfield is something we have worked on in training so it has given me food for thought.

“With Sean Longstaff and Isaac Hayden out we are short so I picked him for his physicality.”