"It's slapstick" - Matthias Jaissle reacts to Fulham 1-1 Newcastle

Matthias Jaissle felt Newcastle United had taken a step in the right direction despite seeing his side surrender a late lead in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Fulham.

Jacob Murphy’s stunning 80th-minute strike looked to have secured a much-needed victory, only for Rodrigo Muniz to equalise just three minutes later.

There were clear signs of improvement after our difficult run of results, but Jaissle was left frustrated by the manner of the equaliser and another decision involving Dan Burn that went against us.

Jaissle on Fulham draw, ‘slapstick’ equaliser and disallowed goal

Speaking after the game, Jaissle was particularly unhappy with how we conceded after finally getting ourselves in front. 

The Newcastle boss described the incident as ‘slapstick’, but insisted his team had been in control before Fulham’s late equaliser and had chances to win, giving us something to build on heading into the international break.

“It’s slapstick, I would say. Fortune was also not there in that situation. We controlled everything. It was nothing where we were not focused. Many bodies in the box. It happens.

“These situations at the moment are not going our way. We need to work on it.   Perhaps you could have come away with three points, but a point and a performance are something we can work with.

“It’s a step in the right direction, it’s something we can really build on, there were also chances to win. That gives us confidence now, when the guys hopefully come back healthy from their national teams.”

Jaissle was also asked about Burn’s first-half goal being ruled out after Yoane Wissa was penalised for holding Timothy Castagne. He was clearly unhappy with the decision, referencing last week’s incident involving Fabian Schar against Everton.

“I learned that phrase here, a soft decision. Without taking it as an excuse, but last week, an occasion where Schar was bleeding in the face and then this as a comparison.

"It’s difficult for me to understand and to digest. But that’s my point of view without paying any fines.”

The Newcastle head coach also acknowledged that his side have struggled to manage games after taking the lead, while pointing to the progress being made under his guidance.

“We have some problems where we score the first goal and the last minute we didn’t control the game as we wanted to do it.

“Now I think we are playing much better in the last minute. We are a new team. We are progressing. Small steps. The players are learning. They are improving. We are on the right track.”

Improvements, but more required

There is no doubt this was a better performance from us after the two defeats against Everton. We showed more fight, created opportunities to win and looked considerably more threatening after the break.

However, the frustration is that we should have come away with more. Murphy’s brilliant finish deserved to be the winning goal, but we switched off almost immediately, allowed Fulham back into the game and gave them chances to win it in the end.

There are positives for Jaissle to take into the international break, particularly after the pressure that had been building following the Everton defeats. But the improvement needs to continue, and we still need to find the quality in the final third to turn promising performances into victories.