Newcastle’s struggles in the Premier League continued as Eddie Howe’s side lost 3-2 at home to Everton.
The Magpies, who secured a draw with Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 in midweek, put in a lackluster performance against the Toffees, leaving them further behind in the race for European football next season.
Goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Beto either side of Jacob Ramsey’s deflected blue bolt gave the visitors a 2-1 lead going into half-time, before Tierno Barry’s winning goal followed Jacob Murphy’s goal in the second half.
The result saw David Moyes’ side return to the top eight after their defeat to Manchester United on Monday Night Football.
Despite resting several key players for their Champions League victory over Qarabag, the hosts got off to a slow start and put pressure on Nick Pope’s goal.
Jarrad Branthwaite scores Everton’s first goal
The in-form James Garner took a bad corner with Branthwaite’s head and was ultimately punished as the defender took a deft touch to score the far corner from inside the post.
Once the crowd at St James’s Park caught up with the home side, they managed to find a breakthrough of their own. Sandro Tonali’s pass cut through the defence, found Ramsey at his feet, and his deflected shot went over Jordan Pickford and into the back of the goal.
Jacob Ramsey briefly equalized for Newcastle, but Beto restored Everton’s lead.
But just 105 seconds later, the visitors regained control. Pope deflected a mid-range shot from Dwight McNeil into the path of the onrushing Beto, who smashed the ball into an empty net from close range to score his fourth Premier League goal of the season.
Newcastle have scored 19 goals this season in the final quarter of a game before kick-off and Howe rolled the dice by bringing in an attacking player in search of his 20th goal. They found it on one of his changes as Murphy fought through a slew of players to equalize.
Josh Mupley scored Newcastle’s equaliser, late on, before Tierno Barry put Everton ahead.
However, lightning struck twice and Newcastle quickly lost parity again, with substitute Barry putting Everton back in front shortly after the restart.
However, the drama did not end there. Tonali thought he had scored an equalizer with a volley in stoppage time, but Pickford made a stunning flying stop to secure the point.
As a result, Newcastle have won just one of their last seven Premier League games, while Everton remain unbeaten in their last six away games and continue their unlikely bid for European status.
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Everton and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford brilliantly saved Sandro Tonali’s powerful volley in stoppage time as Everton held on to beat Newcastle.
What the managers said…
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe:
“Certainly, in relation to the Premier League, our form has not been strong enough or good enough for some time now. We know that and we take responsibility for that.
“It’s really frustrating and I think that’s the crisis in Europe. We’ve tried to focus on every game and give every game the same importance and every attention.
“However, a lot of games can lead to lapses in concentration, and our results in the Premier League in recent weeks have fallen far short of historic standards, and our home form, which has been so reliable for us, has slowed down.
“We have to get it back as soon as possible.”
Everton manager David Moyes:
“We played very well for the first 25 minutes, but we had a little bit of bad luck. But our resilience here on the road…”
“But Newcastle gave us nothing more than expected. They put a lot of pressure on us down the hill and we knew it was coming but we withstood it in the main.”
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Watch Paul Merson’s hilarious reaction to Tierno Barry’s winning goal in Everton vs. Newcastle!
Moyes still dreams of Europe, top six within reach
Analysis by Sky Sports’ Rich Morgan:
Manager David Moyes said his players were not yet ready to give up on their ambitions for next season’s European football and those hopes were still alive after their brilliant 3-2 win at St James’ Park as they prepare for Everton’s tricky trip to Newcastle United.
Two weeks ago, the Toffees could have moved up to sixth in the table had they not fallen to ninth after back-to-back defeats to Bournemouth and Manchester United. However, Saturday’s victory moved them into eighth place, three points behind seventh-placed Brentford, and within striking distance of the top six teams.
The visiting side’s performance in the North East bodes well for the final 10 games of the season, as they not only defended resolutely from start to finish, but were twice thwarted by the Magpies and fought back, only to quickly find themselves back in front.
And given that only league leaders Arsenal (29) have picked up more away points this season than Everton (24), the Toffees should have every chance of qualifying for Europe for a fifth time under Moyes.
