What Eddie Howe said after Newcastle 2-1 Man Utd - Watch post-match presser

Our March fixtures got off to the perfect start with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Manchester United at St James’ Park.

After an end-to-end opening 40 minutes, Anthony Gordon opened the scoring with a penalty, before Casemiro levelled the scoring deep into added time.

And after a turgid half where it looked like the points would be shared, a moment of magic from substitute Will Osula saw him carry the ball from our half, take it to the edge of the penalty box, before scoring one of the goals of the season in the 90th minute to end the visitors unbeaten start to 2026, and give us a much-needed three points.

Here’s what Eddie Howe had to say on a dramatic night under the lights at St James’ Park:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD2F-ykjMr8&pp=0gcJCa4KAYcqIYzv

On tonight’s rollercoaster of events

Despite some torrid refereeing from Peter Bankes, it felt like our win wasn’t going to be denied last night.

After the disappointment of the Everton loss this past weekend, it felt like there was a huge shift in focus and effort from much of the lads, with Howe paying tribute to the team's determination and belief.

"A massive win for us. We needed it. We know we needed it. It's been a tough run for us in the Premier League.

"We started the game really well, but we get the red card. It would've been easy to feel sorry for ourselves after the red card and think 'here we go again.' But that's the biggest compliment I can give the lads: they have stood up in that second half, given more, kept believing we can win.

"A brilliant end to the game. That's one of the best emotions I've felt (in a game), and I'm sure many would feel the same. But we haven't done that enough.

"An amazing night for us, amazing win. We haven’t done that enough here, they’re the sweetest thing you can find as a football manager and a football club.

“An amazing night. It was a great performance all the way through. 11 v 11 or 11 v 10, we deserved to win.

“The main emotion was trying to work out how we'd play in that second half. We wanted to regroup. I thought Jacob Ramsey's sending off was really harsh. I don't think he's looking for a penalty there.”

On a massive momentum boosting win

Tonight was the first of six incredibly hard games to come this month, and our win was the truly perfect start to this run, particularly with Manchester City in the FA Cup coming up next.

The Ramsey red card, Casemiro equaliser, and agonisingly close missed chances could’ve derailed us throughout night, but Howe paid tribute to his players’ improved mentality for persevering and getting the job done.

“I thought we did really well in the first half. I thought we were quite fluid with the ball. We were back to combining and playing as a team, playing in partnerships, so I was really pleased.

“I felt we deserved the goal lead at half time, we had that and they scored from a free kick which I personally didn’t think was a free kick either.

“So it was one of those days where it would’ve been very easy for the players to feel sorry for themselves, especially after the recent run we’ve been on, but there was real collective mental strength to regroup and produce a second half that we did.

“I think we needed it. It’s really important that we grabbed some momentum back (after the Everton game). We want to enjoy the games we have coming up, we want to perform, we want to win them, you’re only going to do that if you’re playing well, so today’s a big step towards us doing that.”

On Osula’s strike and training story