Cristian Romero’s last-gasp overhead kick gave Tottenham a dramatic point after falling behind twice, securing a 2-2 draw with Newcastle and relieving the pressure on manager Thomas Frank.
Anthony Gordon’s controversial penalty (86) appeared to have condemned Spurs to a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions in a frenetic finale at St James’ Park.
However, Romero, 78, who had earlier canceled out Bruno Guimarães’ opening goal (71 points), scored his second equalizer of the night in stoppage time (90+5).
His frayed overhead kick was only Spurs’ second shot on target of the night, threading it through a crowded penalty area and past Aaron Ramsdale to seal their share of the spoils and put Tottenham’s upset to rest for now.
“The performance showed great mentality and character,” Spurs manager Frank told Sky Sports.
“That’s what every team needs. It’s fair to say it’s been a tough week. It’s our fourth game in 10 days and our third away game. St James’s Park is always a difficult place to come to. I’m very happy with the performance overall in the last 60 minutes. Our ability to react to setbacks was great.”
He added: “We struggled for the first 25 minutes. Sometimes you have to suffer, but after that we were very brave and calm and moved the ball forward. There’s a lot to love about the performance.”
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Did Cristian Romero’s praise for imitating Bruno Guimarães spark a full-time debate?
Romero to the rescue!
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Cristian Romero stunner saves Spurs’ goal against Newcastle!
Newcastle got off to a quick start and took control in the first half, enjoying every opportunity, but it wasn’t until the 71st minute that they broke the deadlock.
Spurs grew frustrated with the hosts, and Howe was forced to bring captain Guimarães, who had started on the bench, into the match, giving his team a breakthrough. Gordon’s cross was deflected into the path of Guimarães, who fired a brilliant shot into the bottom corner of the goal.
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Bruno Guimarães scores the opening goal between Newcastle and Spurs in the Premier League match at St James’ Park!
After making three changes, including Matthijs Tell, Richarlison and Xavi Simons, Spurs suddenly leveled seven minutes later when Kudus’ cross was deflected in by Romero’s head.
A chaotic final 10 minutes saw Newcastle take the lead in the 86th minute when Rodrigo Bentancur grappled with Dan Byrne at the back post and, after VAR intervention, Newcastle were awarded a penalty. Gordon made a mistake in the 86th minute to give Newcastle the lead.
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Anthony Gordon scores a penalty and Newcastle take the lead again!
But the drama was not over when Aaron Ramsdale’s punch from a Spurs corner found its way to Romero and the skipper’s acrobatic shot sailed across the box and into the bottom corner at the death, with both teams still in the bottom half of the Premier League.
‘Spurs showed true character’
Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp thought Frank’s side showed real character in fighting back to draw at St James’ Park and highlighted Romero’s leadership.
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Cristian Romero’s header equalizes Spurs with Newcastle
“Spurs showed great character because things weren’t going their way,” he told Sky Sports.
“They weren’t perfect by any means, but they had a captain and a leader who took that game by the scruff of the neck. There were two great goals. The first was certainly a world-class diving header, and the second was from Sinaldo!”
“It was exactly what Spurs needed, they got back into the game and showed real character.
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Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero has jokingly said he learned goal-scoring techniques from Argentina teammate Lionel Messi.
“It was always going to be difficult at Newcastle, especially when Eddie Howe’s side played Everton. They had to fight, they had to show some character, they had to show some desire. Roamer came to the fore.
“Spurs have something to build on now, but it makes no sense to produce such a combative performance and then not play against Brentford. They have to go a little further forward now. If Frank wants to bond more with Spurs fans, they need to see attacking football.”
“But this is a good result, it just mutes the noise around the manager, but they have to take advantage of it against Brentford at the weekend.”
Howe: We weren’t at our best.
Newcastle manager Howe admitted his side were not at their best against Tottenham.
Howe told Sky Sports: “I don’t think we were our best today, but we fought for the position we wanted in the last few minutes and couldn’t defend that corner at the end.”
“I’m disappointed with the first goal. It was a typical cross and we didn’t defend well enough.
“The second one, we couldn’t deal with the first contact and couldn’t stop the overhead kick. It somehow went in. This hurts for us. It’s a disappointing feeling because we worked so hard.”
“Bruno’s goal was a great finish. He made a difference. His energy, enthusiasm and passion always stand out for us. He made a big difference.”
Regarding the penalty shootout, he said, “The important thing is that the defenders weren’t looking at the ball at all, they were only looking at Dan.It was probably the right decision.”
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Jamie Redknapp and Micah Richards were baffled by Newcastle’s penalty during their match against Spurs and questioned the referee’s consistency.
