
Christian Romero’s last-gasp overhead kick rescued Tottenham, who twice fell behind before earning a dramatic point in a 2-2 draw at Newcastle and helping ease the pressure on manager Thomas Frank.
Anthony Gordon’s controversial penalty (86) in a frantic final at St James’ Park looked to have sent Tottenham to a fourth successive defeat in all competitions.
However, Romero (78), who had previously canceled out Bruno Guimaraes’ first goal (71), scored the second equalizer in extra time (90+5).
His scuffed overhead kick, Tottenham’s second shot, sailed through a crowded penalty area and past Aaron Ramsdale to seal part of the spoils, quelling the nerves of Tottenham, who are still winless in their last five Premier League outings.
“This game showed fantastic spirit and character,” Spurs manager Frank said. sky sports.
“It takes every team. It’s no exaggeration to say it’s been a tough week. It was our fourth game in 10 days and our third away. St James’ Park is always a difficult place to come to. I’m very satisfied with the performance overall over the last 60 minutes. Our ability to deal with setbacks was excellent.”
He added: “We suffered in the first 25 minutes. Sometimes you have to suffer. After that we went to the ball very bravely and calmly. There is a lot to love about the performance.”
Please rescue Romero!
Newcastle started quickly and dominated the first half, enjoying the better chances, but only breaking the deadlock in the 71st minute.
Spurs frustrated the hosts and Howe was forced to bring his captain Guimaraes, who started on the bench, into action and he found the breakthrough for his side. Gordon’s cross headed the way of Guimaraes, who produced a brilliant finish into the bottom corner.
After a triple substitution that brought on Mathys Tel, Richarlison and Xavi Simons, Tottenham were suddenly level seven minutes later when Kudus’ cross was deflected home by the head of a diving Romero.
A chaotic final 10 minutes saw Newcastle awarded a penalty after VAR intervention. Rodrigo Bentancur clashed with Dan Byrne at the corner back post and Gordon made no mistake from the spot to fire back for Newcastle in the 86th minute.
But the drama was far from over when Aaron Ramsdale punched Romero from a Spurs corner and the skipper’s acrobatic effort bounced through the box and into the bottom corner to leave both sides still bottom of the Premier League.
‘Spurs showed real character’
Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp Frank’s side held to a draw at St James’ Park, which I thought showed real character that highlighted Romero’s leadership.
“Tottenham showed tremendous character because things didn’t go their way,” he said. sky sports.
“They weren’t perfect by any stretch, but they had a captain and a leader who took the game by the scruff of the neck. Two great goals, certainly the first was a world-class diving header and the second was Cinaldo!
“That was exactly what Tottenham needed, they got back into the game and showed real character.
“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, they had to show desire and Romer was at the forefront.
“Spurs have something to improve on now but there is no sense in being combative like that and not turning up against Brentford. They need to be a little bit more forward now. If Frank wants to bond more with Spurs fans he needs to see some attacking football.
“But it’s a good result. It just reduces the noise around the manager, but they should get their chance against Brentford at the weekend.”
Howe: We didn’t do our best.
Newcastle manager Howe admits Newcastle did not perform at their best against Tottenham.
“I don’t think we played our best today, but we fought to get where we wanted to be with a few minutes left and couldn’t defend that corner at the end,” Howe told Sky Sports.
“We were disappointed with the first goal. It was a standard cross and we didn’t defend it well.
“Secondly, we didn’t handle the first contact and didn’t stop the overhead kick. It went in anyway. It’s a painful thing for us to accept. A disappointing feeling for working too hard.”
“Bruno’s goal was an outstanding finish. He made a difference. His energy and passion always stand out for us. He made a big difference.”
Regarding penalty compensation: “The most important thing is that the defender isn’t looking at the ball at all, he’s only looking at Dan. That’s probably the right call.”