Eddie Howe bemoaned Newcastle’s “lapses of concentration” as they squandered a one-goal lead in a 2-1 Champions League defeat at Marseille.
The Toon impressed in the first half and went ahead after only six minutes thanks to another goal from Harvey Barnes, following his two-goal display against Manchester City, but were punished by two Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang goals shortly after the half-time break at the Stade Velodrome.
The former Arsenal striker rolled back the years with a brilliant finish from a wide angle after taking it round Nick Pope, before he poked home a cross to put the hosts in front a few minutes later for what proved to be the winner.
Eddie Howe told TNT Sports: “I think the goal straight away near enough after half time changes the whole feeling around the stadium and the game itself.
“And it was just a lapse of concentration from our perspective, I think, and then we didn’t, maybe react well enough to that we can see the second and from there, it was difficult mentally.
“The effort was good. I think the start the second half, obviously, was a was a big one for us. The 15 minutes at the start the second half, I thought, cost us.
“I thought we handled the atmosphere really well in the first half, and even towards the end of the game, I felt there were chances for us to score when you’ve worked so hard.”
Poor start to second half costs Newcastle
Dan Burn was disappointed to see Newcastle’s three-game winning streak in the Champions League end and agreed with his manager that it was their start to the second half that ultimately proved costly.
The defender said: “Yeah, definitely frustrating. I thought we’re stuck to the game plan pretty well. The whole game, which was sort of 10-15 minutes of madness start the second half is is costly.
“It’s definitely disappointing to come to a team like this in a stadium like this, an atmosphere like this, and put all that in and knock them away with anything.
“Mentally we didn’t start second half as well as we’re as well as we want to do. And I think obviously Aubameyang, [he’s] 36 years old, but still sharp, and can still finish and show his quality today.
“And I think when you go to one down and you’ve got to break, them down away from home. It’s tough, as I said.
“I think it was actually pretty good performance, but key moments cost. I think our chances that we should have scored and didn’t capitalise on them. [To concede the] two goals, [we’re] very disappointed.”
Aubameyang: I’m feeling good, even at 36
Aubameyang continues to show his quality at 36 as he netted his seventh and eighth goals of the season and the ex-Arsenal captain believes he has plenty more time left at the top level.
He added: “I’m very happy to be here at this club to enjoy moments like tonight. It was a great game. We started a bit sloppily, but we reacted well.
“I’m feeling great, even if I’m 36. When you play these types of games, you want to play more and score more.
“It was very important, especially at home and for the fans. If we want to go through, then we have to win games.”
