Eddie Howe's praise for 10-man Burnley after Newcastle United's 'uncomfortable ending'
A relieved Eddie Howe admitted 10-man Burnley made for an “uncomfortable ending” against his Newcastle United side.
Despite playing the entirety of the second half with a man extra, the Magpies were forced to hold on for the three points during a dramatic finale to the game.
Trailing 2-0 at half-time, Burnley fought back in the second period, halving the deficit late on through Zian Flemming’s penalty before Josh Laurent came within a whisker of glancing home a header in the final seconds of stoppage time.
“That was an uncomfortable ending for us,” Howe admitted.
“There’s certainly a lot for us to learn and the beauty is we're learning with a victory behind us, rather than a negative result.
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“We have to improve our management of games at the latter stages. Today, that nearly cost us and we have to be very honest and say that wasn't a good period of the game for us.
“Although it was a tough game today, I always thought it was going to be in the sense that Burnley are very well organised and made it difficult for us.
“It wasn't our finest performance, a long way short of that really, but we got the job done. Burnley did well, they limited space. It was a very tight pitch for us. As I say, it wasn't our finest performance.”
Reflected on Laurent’s last-gasp chance, Howe joked: “I was quite relaxed at that moment, I think.
“No, you're watching it like everybody else is. I'm watching it like you, and struggling to take in what I was seeing in that moment actually. The referee blew the whistle straight after, so you're instantly moving with what's happening.”
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