MATTHIAS JAISSLE’S honeymoon period was on the verge of an abrupt end before Jacob Ramsey came to Newcastle’s rescue.
Bournemouth should have been out of sight after a dominating first half only to blow it again at the death as Toon fought back from two down to earn a 2-2 draw.
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Marco Rose must be tearing his hair out. Marcus Tavernier and an Malick Thiaw own goal put them in the driving seat. But, somehow, he is somehow still searching for his first win as the Cherries blew the lead for a third straight game.
But it was joy on Tyneside as it was Ramsey, rather than £51m deadline day signing Matias Fernandez-Pardo, that saved the day from the bench after Harvey Barnes got them back in it.
However, for all of the positivity coming out of St James’ at the end of a transfer window that, a month ago, looked to be a crippling one, some harsh realities were laid bare here.
A spirited performance in front of a charged-up Geordie faithful and a win at powderpuff Tottenham may have convinced the Toon Army everything was rosy.
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But the stats told another story. No team had conceded more shots than Newcastle’s tally of 44 in the opening two games.
And they continued to play with fire here as Bournemouth blew a host of first half opportunities.
In the battle of the two former RB Salzburg bosses, there was only one watching their team playing the high-intensity attacking football they were brought up on in Austria.
Simply, Newcastle could not cope with the Cherries’ press as they sailed into a two-goal lead without Toon laying a glove on them.
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Saturday 5 September
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Only nine minutes had gone before they took the lead as Marcus Tavernier, who had already forced Lukas Hornicek into action with a free-kick, pounced.
Man of the match Alex Scott’s shot deflected off Nico Gonzalez, the Spanish midfielder signed as Bruno Guimaraes’ replacement, and looped towards the left. Full-back Amar Dedic, lauded so far after an impressive start since his £30m arrival from Benfica, was caught ball watching, and ex-Toon trainee Tavernier reacted quickest to stab home.
Newcastle were fuming, believing Anthony Elanga had been fouled in the build-up, but there was no VAR to save them and Jaissle was behind for the first time in the Prem.
Bournemouth were always going to be a tough nut to crack. They became former manager Eddie Howe’s bogey side. The Mags have failed to win any of their last eight top-flight fixtures, with the last coming in July 2020 when the South Coast outfit were still managed by the recently departed Toon boss.
This was the third game on the spin Marco Rose’s men had taken the lead only to blow it by losing at Manchester City and conceding a late equaliser to Everton.
And fears over whether they could go on here to claim the points must have been lingering when striker Evanilson blew a great chance to make it two. However, the Brazilian’s barren run stretched to 13 games as he fired high and wide with just Hornicek to beat after cutting out Sven Botman’s poor pass to Gonzalez.
Tavernier squandered another chance while Dedic, who looked shaky throughout, remained the only home player to have touched the ball in the opposition box by the time the visitors did finally get another breakthrough.
Bosnian Dedic was involved again, losing the ball in midfield. Gonzalez was beaten too easily by Tavernier on the counter before Justin Kluivert’s strike hit the post. It cannoned back and deflected off Hornicek for Scott to hit a cross back from the left which looped off Malick Thiaw and in.
That looked to be game over. But Harvey Barnes had other ideas. Picking it up out the left, he cut inside Tyler Adams and curled a pearler straight past Dorde Petrovic into the far right corner for an instant response.
Game on. Well, not quite. Jaissle’s men failed to make the momentum count and by the break the fact that striker Yoane Wissa, No.10 Joe Willock nor Anthony Elanga had touched the ball in Bournemouth’s penalty area told its own story.
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A great driving run and cross from Wissa was flicked on by Elanga only for Willock to glance a header wide just after the break but cometh the hour, Jaissle could not resist the urge to bring on big-money buy Fernandez-Pardo.
But it was fellow substitute Ramsey that came to the rescue with only Newcastle’s second shot on target in the 88th minute. Botman headed a free-kick back across goal, the Bournemouth defence failed to clear, and the ex-Aston Villa man rifled home on the rebound after Barnes’ initial shot was blocked.