Eddie Howe has bemoaned a painful afternoon for his team after Newcastle lost 2-1 to Sunderland at St James’ Park.
The Magpies lost the Tyne-Wear Derby for a second time this season as Sunderland staged a second-half comeback to claim the points.
Anthony Gordon opened the scoring for Newcastle with his 17th goal of the campaign, but Sunderland struck back after the break. Chemsdine Talbi turned in an equaliser for the visitors, before Brian Brobbey broke Newcastle hearts with a last-minute winner.
The Sunderland goals came either side of a disallowed Newcastle effort for Malick Thiaw, while a pause in the game due to alleged racist abuse from the home crowd further compounded a day to forget for Newcastle.
Howe admitted the loss was tough for his team but refused to blame a congested recent run of games for a flat second-half showing.
“Painful, tough afternoon for us. Positive start, I thought when we scored we would go on and dominate but we never capitalised on that momentum,” Howe reflected, speaking to Sky Sports.
“The first half fizzed out and second half we were second best. I didn’t like our performance. Technically we were poor. The defeat is harsh on us but we didn’t play well enough.
“I’m reluctant to use that (fixture pile-up) as an excuse. Logic would tell you yes, but we have to do better. We have to really look at ourselves and make sure we learn from all the mistakes we have made and we made a few today. This has happened before, it isn’t a one off.”
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