Cristian Romero’s late kick saved Tottenham, who twice fell behind, a dramatic point with a 2-2 draw at Newcastle to help ease the pressure on boss Thomas Frank.
In what was a frantic final at St James’ Park, Anthony Gordon’s controversial penalty (86) appeared to condemn Spurs to a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions.
However, Romero (78), who had previously canceled Bruno Guimaraes’ (71) opener, stood out with his second equalizer of the evening in stoppage time (90+5).
His scuffed kick, just Spurs’ second shot on target of the evening, flew across a crowded penalty area and past Aaron Ramsdale to seal a share of the spoils, easing the troubles at Tottenham, who are still winless in their last five Premier League outings, so far.
“The performance showed fantastic mentality and character,” said Spurs boss Frank. Aerial sports.
“Every team needs it. It’s fair to say it’s been a tough week, fourth game in 10 days, third away game. St James’ Park is always a tough place to come. Over the last 60 minutes I’m very happy with the performance overall. The ability to react to setbacks was excellent.”
He added: “We suffered the first 25 minutes. Sometimes you have to suffer, after that we were very brave and calm with the ball. There are a lot of things to like about this performance.”
Romero to the rescue!
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Cristian Romero STUNNER saves Spurs’ point in Newcastle!
Newcastle started quickly and controlled the first half, capitalizing on the best chances, but it wasn’t until the 71st minute that they broke the deadlock.
Spurs had frustrated the hosts and Howe was forced to bring his captain Guimaraes, who had started on the bench, into the action and he found the breakthrough for his side. Gordon’s cross was sent into the path of Guimaraes, who produced a brilliant finish into the bottom corner.
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Bruno Guimaraes blasts Newcastle in front against Spurs during their Premier League match at St James’ Park!
After a triple substitution, with the introduction of Mathys Tel, Richarlison and Xavi Simons, Spurs suddenly equalized seven minutes later when Kudus’ cross was palmed away by the head of the diving Romero.
In a chaotic final 10 minutes, Newcastle awarded a penalty after VAR intervention when Rodrigo Bentancur battled with Dan Burn at the far post from a corner and Gordon made no mistake from the spot to send Newcastle ahead in the 86th minute.
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Anthony Gordon scores from the spot as Newcastle regain the advantage!
The drama was not over, however, when Aaron Ramsdale’s punch from a Spurs corner reached Romero and the skipper’s acrobatic effort bounced across the box and into the bottom corner at the death to leave both teams still in the bottom half of the Premier League.
“Spurs showed real character”
Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp thought Frank’s side showed real character in coming back for a draw at St James’ Park, singling out Romero’s leadership.
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Cristian Romero header brings Spurs level at Newcastle
“Spurs have shown great character because it’s not going their way,” he said. Aerial sports.
“They weren’t perfect by any means, but they had a captain and a leader who took this game by the scruff of the neck. Two great goals, the first was certainly a world class diving header, the second a shinaldo!
“It was exactly what Spurs needed. They came back into the game and showed real character.
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Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero jokes that he learned his goal technique from Argentina teammate Lionel Messi.
“It was always going to be difficult at Newcastle, especially the way Eddie Howe’s side played at Everton. They had to fight, they had to show character and they had to show desire. Romer came through.
“Spurs now have something to build on, but there is no point in producing such a fighting display and then not showing up against Brentford. They now need to go a little further forward. If Frank wants to connect more with Spurs fans, they need to see attacking football.
“But it’s a good result. It will only take the noise out of the manager but they need to capitalize against Brentford this weekend.”
Howe: We weren’t at our best
Newcastle boss Howe admitted Newcastle were not at their best against Tottenham.
Howe told Sky Sports: “I don’t think we were at our best today, but we fought to get to the position we wanted with a few minutes to go and we just couldn’t defend that corner at the end.
“We are disappointed with the first goal, it was a standard cross and we didn’t defend it well enough.
“Second, we didn’t handle the first contact and then we didn’t stop the overhead kick. Somehow it went in. It’s painful for us to accept. A disappointing feeling after working so hard.
“Bruno’s goal was an exceptional finish. He made the difference, his energy, enthusiasm and passion always stands out for us. He made a big difference.”
On the sanction: “The most important thing is that the defender doesn’t look at the ball at all, he just looks at Dan. It’s probably the right decision.”
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Jamie Redknapp and Micah Richards were left perplexed by Newcastle’s penalty in their clash with Spurs and questioned the consistency of the refereeing.
History of the match in stats…
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