Howe praises super sub Barnes after late comeback
EDDIE HOWE praised saviour Harvey Barnes after he came off t he bench to drag Newcastle from the jaws of defeat to a remarkable victory over West Ham. The Magpies were trailing 3-1 at St James’ Park when £ 38 million summer signing Barnes was introduced as a 67th-minute replacement for injured substitute Miguel Almiron and 23 madcap minutes later, he scored the second of two goals to secure a stunning 4-3 win.
Head coach Howe said: “Harvey deserves that. The thing with Harvey is that he’s a goalscorer. You look at his statistics and his record, and it’s incredible really for a wide player.
“You just look at the amount of goals he got last season for Leicester. We felt, signing him, that he could get similar numbers for us. He’s just been struck by injuries, and he’s had a difficult start to his Newcastle career.
“But the quality is undoubtedly there and I thought the two finishes today were typical Harvey. It wasn’t easy to score the first one – although it was a one-on-one, he had a really small part of the goal to aim at and took it brilliantly.
“Then the second one, I hope it will live on for a long time because at 3-3, the ball drops to him on his right foot, but he still has so much to do. It’s a great goal.”
Alexander Isak had put the hosts ahead with an early penalty but Michail Anthonio soon had the Irons level before Mohammed Kudus struck just before the break.
West Ham looked in complete control after Jarrod Bowen made it 3-1 soon after the restart.
Newcastle started their fightback with 13 minutes left when Isak converted another spot-kick, given following a VAR check, before Barnes took centre stage
The Magpies finished with 10 men after Anthony Gordon was shown a second yellow card during stoppage time for kicking the ball away.
Howe added: “It was a brilliant advert for the Premier League, I think, a really good advert for the league in terms of the drama, the changes in the game and the flows in momentum.”
West Ham boss David Moyes said: “We scored three, they scored four, we lose the game. We did a lot of good things, certainly going forward. Our attacking play was very good.”
There was a dramatic finish to last night’s late kick- off as Brentford struck a stoppage- time equaliser through Kristoffer Ajer to draw 1-1 against Manchester United moments after Mason Mount looked to have snatched an injury-time winner for the visitors.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, conceded his team are missing something after they failed to defeat 10-man Burnley in what he reflected had been a “must-win” game at Stamford Bridge, which ended 2-2.
Cole Palmer’s goal, drilled into the bottom corner from Raheem Sterling’s delightful flick with 12 minutes to play, looked to have nicked it for the hosts, restoring the lead after Josh Cullen had whacked Burnley level on the volley early in the second half.
Palmer had earlier given Chelsea the lead from the penalty spot, converting after Lorenz Assignon had fouled Mykhailo Mudryk and been shown a second yellow card, whilst a furious Vincent Kompany was also dismissed from the touchline for remonstrating.
But Pochettino was left to rue another frustrating result when, minutes after Palmer had made it 2-1, Dara O’Shea got forward and headed the ball through the clumsy grasp of goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic to salvage the visitors a point.
“Today we didn’t show the capacity, the energy, the hunger,” said Pochettino. “Not the minimum to compete in the Premier League. In defensive phases, we concede too much.
“That is why I’m so upset and disappointed. It’s more here [in the heart] and here [in the head] than in your legs. It’s about being strong like a group, strong like a team.
“We are too slow evolving in this area. That was the key today. The team played well, we had energy.
“It’s difficult to accept not to win. It was a must-win game to be in a position to attack [the table].”
Pochettino felt his team’s problems in turning performances into points ultimately had a psychological root.
“[The players] need to realise that competing is different to playing football,” he said. “We can be there and play, but we need to increase our level. It’s not about blaming the players. Maybe we [the coaching staff] need to be tougher with them. We need to be more ruthless, find better communication, be more competitive. We are missing something. That’s why we are where we are.”
Tottenham came from behind to beat relegation battlers Luton 2-1, boosting their top-four hopes.
Tahith Chong gave the Hatters a shock lead after just three minutes.
Spurs eventually got back on level terms six minutes into the second half through an own goal from Luton defender Issa Kabore.
Ange Postecoglou’s men completed the comeback with four minutes left through Son Heung-min’s deflected effort, which saw Luton slip into the bottom three on goal difference.
Nottingham Forest moved out of the drop zone after a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace at the City Ground.
Jean- Philippe Mateta gave the Eagles the lead in the 11th minute, but Chris Wood’s close-range header just after the hour hauled Forest level.
Bottom club Sheffield United were denied a first home win since early December as Fulham fought back with late goals to draw 3-3 at Bramall Lane.
The Blades took the lead in the 58th minute through Ben Brereton Diaz but Fulham were soon back on level terms through Joao Palhinha’s header. Oli McBurnie had Sheffield United in f ront again after 68 minutes, with Brereton Diaz swiftly heading in a third.
McBurnie saw another goal ruled out by VAR before Fulham set up a tense final five minutes when Bobby De Cordova-Reid pulled a goal back and Rodrigo Muniz then struck a superb equaliser with an overhead kick in stoppage time.
Bournemouth snatched a late 2-1 win over Everton at the Vitality Stadium. Dominic Solanke’s header was cancelled out when substitute Beto knocked the ball in after it was dropped by Bournemouth keeper Neto – only for Toffees captain Seamus Coleman to score an own goal in stoppage time.