Newcastle United lost 0-1 to Manchester United away in the Premier League, and manager Eddie Howe accepted an interview after the game.
Q: You played better in the second half – was that the main idea for you here this season?
Eddie Howe: Yes. It’s another difficult problem to solve for us because I felt we really had a chance tonight, especially to take the initiative in the first half. Particularly in midfield, I just felt we gave the ball away too much at that stage to get the control we wanted. That put us in transition moments, which as an away team, you never want.
The second half was much better. We controlled the game better, built up well from the back, but in terms of chance creation – I think we created some, but not the clear-cut, must-score opportunities. So we’re very disappointed. I think we’ve only scored seven goals away from home, haven’t we? Four of them came in one game. You don’t have to be a genius to see where the problem is.
Q: Yes, I think it’s obvious. Away from home, your finishing in front of goal hasn’t been good enough – that’s clear.
Eddie Howe: Our finishing in front of goal has been really lackluster in some away games. I think our overall performance is steadily improving, but away from home, that feeling of being able to score at any moment, or having players in the team who can score, is a huge confidence boost for the team – and we haven’t done enough in that area, which ultimately cost us tonight.
Q: Are you saying you feel you deserved something from this game? Away games have been a bit different this season.
Eddie Howe: Yes, I think you could say we deserved something today, but ultimately we didn’t – and that’s been the feeling too many times for us away from home this year. As I said earlier, I really feel since the last international break, apart from that big mistake, we’ve been much better. I think we took another step forward in terms of performance today, but no one really wants to hear that. In the world we live in, results are ultimately what matter, and we know that. So the ability to create chances, the ability to keep clean sheets – those are absolutely crucial away from home, and we didn’t do either well enough.
Q: That obvious handball in the second half?
Eddie Howe: I appealed like everyone else. I think I saw an arm, but I haven’t seen the replay yet, so I don’t know if it was a penalty.
