Newcastle United started strongly in their away clash against Crystal Palace, but things took a disastrous turn in the final moments at Selhurst Park
Jamie Carragher was left unconvinced by the controversial penalty Crystal Palace were awarded in injury time against Newcastle United. The Magpies were beaten 2-1 at Selhurst Park in a topsy-turvy clash in south London.
The first half was a good one for Eddie Howe’s side as William Osula finished a slick team move with a clever improvised strike while sat on the floor. After the break, Oliver Glasner’s side took control while Newcastle struggled to assert themselves like they did in the opening 45 minutes.
Jean-Philippe Mateta equalised in the 80th minute to dent Newcastle’s hopes of claiming a much needed away victory. However, the Frenchman then scored an injury-time winner from the penalty spot after Sven Botman tugged the shirt of Jefferson Lerma in the penalty area.
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Looking at the incident, Carragher said: “It’s late in the game, it’s a silly thing for Botman to do. Normally, in the past, a referee may say, ‘I’m not going to give a penalty, it’s the last minute of a game, it’s 1-1, but he’s given the penalty.”
Earlier in the campaign, the Premier League said they would be looking for more holding and shirt-pulling offences in the penalty area.
On their website, they wrote: “There will be enhanced recognition of holding offences on-field. Officials will be encouraged to identify and penalise offences, with “Referee’s Call” continuing to be used for checks made by VAR.”Content cannot be displayed without consent
As a result of the loss in south London, Newcastle have dropped to 14th place, with Palace leapfrogging them into 13th. After the match, a disappointed Aaron Ramsdale insisted he and his team-mates will keep fighting for a place in the European positions.
He said: “Probably the story of our season – getting into winning positions and not being able to hold onto it. I can’t really put my finger on it. We are working hard to come up with something. We could’ve gone two or three goals up on another day. It wasn’t to be.”
He also added: “I’m not too sure if it’s over. We want to win every single game and we are ready to fight in every single game. We slipped up again today. So we need to find some solution to keep hold of the lead when in matches and to take the three points.”
Howe did not specifically mention the penalty incident or offer his opinion on whether it should have been given or not. He did however admit it was a needless goal for his side to concede.
The Newcastle boss said: “I thought we were in total control probably with 60 minutes gone, but their substitutes made a difference. Jean-Philippe Mateta in particular proved a difficult customer for us to deal with.
“The defeat is harsh on us because we controlled the majority of the first half and phases of the second. It’s becoming difficult for us, with how things are going for us especially when protecting a lead. The goal we conceded at the end is really, really poor from our perspective.”