by Eddie Howe has defended Nick Pope after the goalkeeper’s bloodlust put Marseille on their way to Champions League victory over Newcastle.
The Magpies were leading 1-0 at the Stade Velodrome when the England international raced off his line just seconds after the restart in a vain attempt to get the ball to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and saw the 36-year-old go around him before finishing from an unexpected angle.
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Just four minutes late, Pope was defeated by the former Arsenal striker for the second time as the Ligue 1 side boosted their season with a 2-1 win and denied the Magpies a fourth successive three-point win.
When asked about his goalkeeper’s mistake, head coach Howe said in his post-match press conference: “It’s worrying when we concede goals, regardless of who is at fault. We have to look at everything with a level head.”
“He’s saved us many times. Just two days ago he made some really good saves against Manchester City. That’s the life of a goalkeeper. But I’ll definitely support him.”
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Harvey Barnes had given the visitors a dream start when he put them ahead in the sixth minute and they missed further opportunities to extend their lead.
But Aubameyang, who missed a number of chances himself in the first half, was ruthless after the break and took the points.
Howe said: “There are areas we can improve. These are the games we want to compete in and test ourselves.”
“I think we didn’t react to the goal in the second half. We didn’t react to the goal, we were on defense and the crowd came into the game. Then we weren’t at our best.”
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The Magpies, who have won just one of their eight away games so far this season, face a tough game at Everton on Saturday and travel to Bayer Leverkusen, who enjoyed an impressive 2-0 win at Manchester City, in their next European game.
Howe said: “We need the intention to score more goals in games. The intention was there. Maybe our pressing wasn’t as intense as before. One-nil is a tricky result and we didn’t defend well enough.”
“The result hurts us, but we have great games ahead of us.”
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In contrast, Aubameyang, who scored his 400th career goal this weekend, was delighted to have added two more to his tally on a night when the Ligue 1 side needed a win to boost their qualification hopes.
Asked how much he still has left in him, Aubameyang told TNT Sports: “Hopefully a lot. I feel great even though I’m 36. I’m enjoying it and when you live these types of games, of course you want to play more and score more points.”
“It was very, very important, especially at home for the fans and for us. If we want to progress, of course we have to win games, so yes, it was very important.”
