"I think, during the game, you could see that we could get the three points. Afterwards (towards the end of the game) it was quite difficult but we finished strong and we could’ve scored at the end. At least we got a point and the team finished with ambition.
"Sometimes these things (the penalty) happen. We gave them the chance to score with the penalty but the reaction of the team was quite good.
"We did well but we still conceded two goals so something was wrong. We have to keep working hard and keep improving. It was a pity for the fans because to bring 3,500 fans away, this distance on a Sunday, it’s a pity because we could’ve got three points and they would be travelling home happier.
“We can be better, we have to be better and hopefully we will be better. We have to defend better, attack better, keep the ball a little bit better but I’m still really pleased with the team.”
| Southampton player ratings: Newcastle (H) | Southampton bounced back from their recent defeats with a 2-2 draw at home to Newcastle on Sunday. The Saints had … 15-10-2017 |
Southampton v Newcastle LIVE: Can Rafa Benitez win again in the Premier League?
Ayoze Perez’s second half strike looked to have helped Rafa Benitez get the better of his protege, Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino.
But Lejuene blew it with a brainless challenge on Shane Long which gifted Manolo Gabbiadini the chance to rescue a point from the spot.
Jonjo Shelvey was left nursing a broken finger after breaking up a fight between captain Jamaal Lascelles and Mohamed Diame last week and played with his hand strapped up.
But Isaac Hayden proved the Magpies can pack a punch on the pitch as well as the training ground with a thumping 20th minute opener.
Christian Atsu had already smashed a shot against the outside of the post when his goal-bound effort was blocked into Hayden’s path by Maya Yoshida.
Hayden made no mistake, rifling home from 20 yards past Southampton keeper Fraser Forster, who was wrong-footed by Atsu’s initial effort.
| Our man of the match: Newcastle (H) | Southampton were poor on Sunday as they managed a 2-2 draw against Newcastle United. The Saints headed into the game … 15-10-2017 |
| Pellegrino happy with ‘positive’ point | Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino was positive after his side’s 2-2 draw against Newcastle, as reported by BBC … 15-10-2017 |
Newcastle proved their fighting spirit extends beyond the confines of the training ground to the satisfaction of manager Rafa Benitez.
After an international break dominated by a training ground bust-up Benitez applauded the effort of his team as the Geordies took a point north from the long-haul to Southampton for the first time in 13 years.
Twice they led through goals by Isaac Hayden and Ayoze Perez but Saints responded to salvage a draw with two Manolo Gabbaidini goals, the second from a penalty.
‘The spirit is very good,’ said Benitez. 'The city and the fans, everybody is behind the team and the players see that too. We have a lot of people together working very hard for each other.
'You are disappointed because you could win and we bring 3,500 fans on a Sunday on a long trip and it is a pity not to give them three points.
‘I am not happy with the goals we conceded but at the same time you are happy because you have a point away against a good team and overall if was a good performance, creating chances, and a great game.’
Few had anticipated such entertaining fare.
Saints had failed to score in 10 of their previous 12 home fixtures and boss Mauricio Pellegrino tackled the problem by selecting two central strikers and two genuine wingers against the team managed by his mentor Benitez.
The tempo was brisk, the passing fluent, mistakes rife and opportunities came and went, even before Hayden lashed the opener past former Newcastle 'keeper Fraser Forster.
Matt Ritchie’s cross from the left was deflected to the feet of Christian Atsu but his half-volley on the turn was blocked by Maya Yoshida.
The rebound spun to Hayden, five yards outside the penalty area, and he met it was a first-time strike which fizzed and swerved through a crowd and deceived Forster.
Saints almost conceded a second in freakish circumstances, early in the second half, when a cross by Perez was met at the near post by a combination of Yoshida and Joselu, looped high and hit the bar.
Gabbiadini equalised with his first goal for nearly two months. The chance seemed to have gone when the Italian striker was forced wide and opted against a pass inside to Cedric Soares.
Instead, he wriggled into a shooting position and snapped a low shot past Rob Elliot with his left foot from the edge of the box.
‘Manolo is an important player,’ said Pellegrino. ‘He is working hard for the team and the goals complete a striker’s job.’
Relief washed around the stadium. Perhaps too much because Newcastle were celebrating their second within two minutes.
Shelvey, playing with a cast on his hand to protect the finger broken when he tried to stop the fight between Jamaal Lascelles and Mo Diame, instigated the attack as he did so often from central midfield and Ritchie released Perez through an inside-right channel.
His first effort was beaten back to him by Forster who then made a mess of his angles and was beaten at his near-post by the Spanish striker. For Perez, it was a first Premier League goal for more than 18 months.
‘We conceded too quickly, a soft goal,’ said Pellegrino. ‘Maybe we have to be better organised but it was a chaotic game and I will take some of the responsibility because sometimes you have to break the game to create something.’
Deandre Yedlin escaped a sending off as Newcastle dug in to defend their lead. Having been booked in the first-half for disputing a free-kick, Yedlin was late on Nathan Redmond and must have been relieved when referee Kevin Friend let him off with a stern lecture.
Friend had no room for discretion, however, when Florian Lejeune lumbered across the back-line and tripped Shane Long inside the penalty area.
The referee pointed straight to the spot. ‘It seemed from the bench to be a penalty,’ conceded Benitez and up stepped Gabbiadini to beat Elliot with confidence.
Saints had the momentum through the closing stages and Newcastle’s threat on the break was muted when substitute Dwight Gayle suffered a calf injury which limited his movement in the final minutes.
Lejeune almost made amends, however, when he connected well with a header from corner but Steven Davis was on the line to clear.
Newcastle settled for the point, a vast improvement on recent visits to the Solent and keeps them locked inside the top-half of the Premier League.
Before this thrilling 2-2 draw, Mauricio Pellegrino conceded he was looking forward to inviting his old mentor Rafa Benitez “for a coke after the game”.
But after watching the defensive horror show that ensued, both men could be forgiven for reaching for something a little stronger. Southampton twice fell behind before Manolo Gabbiadini twice bailed them out of trouble, with both defences stumbling around like drunks for much of this haphazard mid-table clash.
Defensive errors were to blame for all four of the goals. Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster had a game to forget in goal for the home side and should have prevented both Isaac Hayden and Ayoze Perez from hitting the back of the net, while Gabbiadini was criminally allowed to dribble the ball around virtually Newcastle’s entire defence for his first before Shane Long won the soft penalty that lead to his second.
“We are disappointed because we could have won, but at the same time we are happy with taking a point away,” Benitez said later. “It was a pity not to send the fans home with a win after such a long trip, but overall it was a good performance and I am happy with the team.”
Both sides spurned good opportunities to open the scoring before two of Southampton’s most highly-prized players, Forster and Virgil van Dijk, combined to help Newcastle get off the mark.
The centre-back failed to clear his lines, handing the lively Christian Atsu the chance to shoot. His effort was blocked by Maya Yoshida but fell kindly at the feet of Isaac Hayden, who chanced his arm with a low shot from distance. And Forster, who had flung himself to his left in anticipation of Atsu’s attempt, was caught completely flat-footed, stranded as the ball squirmed beyond him.
England’s number two watched the restart with his head in his hands, but partner-in-crime Van Dijk almost achieved instant redemption when he beat Rob Elliot to a corner moments later. Almost. The defender glanced his header narrowly wide and St Mary’s grew increasingly restless.
The mood threatened to turn even more sour after the break, when Perez took advantage of a defensive mix-up to stab a cross into the box that looped off Joselu and onto bar. Cue the intervention of Gabbiadini, who scored a fine solo goal to level the scores for a full 86-seconds.
The lone striker did well to bring down a long punt from the back but isolated himself down by the byline in doing so, surrounded by three Newcastle defenders and seemingly in a position of little danger. But he was then allowed — criminally — to embark on a leisurely dribble to the edge of the penalty area, his low shot on goal catching out Elliot at his near post.
St Mary’s erupted but the joy of the home crowd was short lived. Again Forster was to blame: Newcastle immediately swept down the middle of the pitch with Perez shot low from 20 yards, only for the goalkeeper to push the attempt back out to the Spaniard. It was a tight angle but he failed to cover his near post and Perez rattled in the rebound.
Pellegrino was stung into action. Off came Redmond for Boufal, with Davis replacing Romeu shortly afterward. The game opened up as a consequence, with Southampton throwing players forward in pursuit of an equaliser. And yet it was another defensive error that handed Southampton their point.
This time French defender Florian Lejeune was the culprit. The spritely Shane Long was heading nowhere when he stormed into the box chasing down an overcooked through ball, but Lejeune could not resist making the challenge. Long hurtled over and Kevin Friend immediately awarded the spot-kick, which Gabbiadini gleefully lashed past Elliot high into the net.
“Okay we won the point, but we conceded a soft goal too quickly after equalising and we have to be better organised,” Pellegrino said. “My feeling today was that we never controlled the game totally and next week our organisation has to be better.”
There was one final moment of drama, when Davis heroically headed Lejeune’s late header off the line. At the end, a still-exhaling Pellegrino almost fell into Benitez’s arms. A draw was a fair result, leaving Newcastle ninth in the table with Southampton one place behind.
Southampton managed to earn a point against Newcastle with a 2-2 draw at St Mary’s.
Manolo Gabbiadini scored the crucial equaliser from the penalty spot, after Florian Lejeune’s ridiculous challenge on Shane Long, but it was the Saints’ stopper that grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Fraser Forster was at fault for both of Newcastle’s goals and a number of fans questioned the Englishman’s form on social media.
Scroll through some of the responses on Twitter as the ex-Celtic stopper endured a terrible day at the office.
It wasn’t the three points Mauricio Pellegrino was looking for to kick-start his season but at least Southampton aren’t stuttering in front of goal anymore.
They had only scored once in their last nine Premier League home games and this was evidently high up on Pellegrino’s list to sort out as he named Manolo Gabbiadini and Shane Long in his starting XI.
The former proved to be their saviour, twice pegging back Rafa Benitez’s side to earn a share of the spoils. In a game filled with high drama and incidents, Sportsmail were on hand to sweep up anything you might have missed from Sunday’s clash at the St Mary’s Stadium.
Unlike his strike partner Manolo Gabbiadini, Long was unable to break his goalscoring duck against Newcastle on Sunday.
His work rate for the team cannot be underestimated but as a forward player he will want to find the back of the net most games.
Unfortunately for the Ireland international that is a feeling he hasn’t had for some time.
The 30-year-old, rather amazingly, has not scored a goal for club or country since February 2016 - 20 months ago.
Roy Hodgson enjoys a day out after huge win over Chelsea
When Roy Hodgson sat down in the Crystal Palace hot seat he knew from day one he had a job on his hands.
But he earned himself a rare pressure-free Sunday after inspiring Palace to their first league win of the season.
The former England boss was spotted smiling as he kicked back and took his seat in the St Mary’s stands to watch Southampton take on Newcastle.
You can take the manager out the dugout but you can’t stop him from working.
Though Hodgson looked relaxed he would have taken notes and been watching on with a keen eye as his side face a trip to St James’ Park in their next fixture.
Newcastle will wonder what they have to do to keep a clean sheet at the St Mary’s.
The 2-2 scoreline means they haven’t kept a top-flight clean sheet at Southampton since February 1969, conceding in each of their last 26 visits there.
A Southampton youngster ran on to the pitch with a ball at his feet at half-time and bounded towards the goal.
He had such optimism you felt maybe he was the answer to their goalscoring crisis.
But even he couldn’t find the back of a gaping net. To make matters worse he fell over afterwards.
Luckily for him Manolo Gabbiadini was on hand to end their and his scoring drought.
The Italian striker made a great start to life in the Premier League but dropped off towards the end of last season and started this campaign very much in the same fashion.
However, the 25-year-old could be on his way back to his best after netting a double in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle.
He scored more goals in Sunday’s game than he had in his last 15 Premier League games - where he had netted just once.
Manolo Gabbiadini’s double inspired Southampton as they twice came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw with Newcastle on Nissan Super Sunday.
Isaac Hayden’s first Premier League goal put the Magpies ahead at St Mary’s on 20 minutes, but that was cancelled out by a fine individual strike from Gabbiadini early in the second half.
Ayoze Perez punished an error from Fraser Forster to restore Newcastle’s lead within 86 seconds, but, once again, Gabbiadini was the Saints’ hero as his emphatic penalty 15 minutes from time sealed a point.
The result lifts Southampton up to 10th in the Premier League, two points and one spot behind ninth-placed Newcastle.
Having failed to score in eight of their last nine home matches, Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino was under pressure ahead of kick-off, pressure which would have increased further had Christian Atsu’s ninth-minute effort found the target and not the side-netting.
The Saints responded as Nathan Redmond’s cross found Dusan Tadic at the far post on 16 minutes, but the Serb headed a gilt-edged chance over and the hosts were made to pay shortly afterwards as Hayden’s crisp volley flashed past Forster in the home goal from 20 yards out.
Virgil van Dijk, making his first appearance at St Mary’s since January, had the chance to mark his return with a goal, and draw a line under a tumultuous summer, but, having beaten Newcastle 'keeper Rob Elliot to the ball at the near post, the defender’s glancing header drifted wide.
Saints pressed and probed for an equaliser but it was Newcastle who came closest to scoring again as Joselu turned Perez’s centre onto the crossbar within two minutes of the restart.
But, out of nothing, a moment of brilliance hauled Southampton level as Gabbiadini plucked a long ball down in the area and kept Javi Manquillo at arm’s length before trickling the ball into the bottom corner.
The lead was short-lived, though, as Perez fired the ball past Forster after the Saints stopper spilled his initial near-post effort.
But, after Florian Lejeune brought Shane Long down in the area, up stepped Gabbiadini, this time from 12 yards, to rescue Southampton once more, before substitute Steven Davis prevented Lejeune from atoning for his penalty error by hacking his goal-bound header off the line at the death.
Mauricio Pellegrino: “We conceded a couple of, in my opinion, soft goals. We were in our best moment (in the match). We could have won the game but also we could lose the game. We are conceding goals in every single game at home and we can do better. It is one point, it is not the best for us but in how we conceded the first and second goals the point is positive.”
Rafa Benitez: “My big disappointment was for the fans. It was a pity because we couldn’t get three points so they could go back happy. It was difficult but at least we got a point. We can be better and hopefully we will be better but we have to defend better.”
Gabbiadini was making his first start in more than a month but showed no signs of rustiness as he cancelled strikes in either half from Hayden and Perez. Mauricio Pellegrino will hope his brace prompts a return to the sort of form that saw the Italian score six goals in his first four games for Southampton last season.
The striker’s intervention here will also come as a relief to England hopeful Forster after the goalkeeper endured several shaky moments and was caught out of position for both Newcastle goals.
Newcastle host Crystal Palace at St James’ Park next Saturday at 3pm before Southampton welcome West Brom to St Mary’s in the evening kick-off.
Manolo Gabbiadini’s double rescued Southampton as his side twice came from behind to salvage a 2-2 Premier League draw against Newcastle.
Saints looked to be staring down the barrel of a third straight league defeat when Isaac Hayden and Ayoze Perez put Newcastle ahead in each half at St Mary’s Stadium.
But both times Gabbiadini hit back, his second goal coming from the penalty spot after Newcastle’s Florian Lejeune had brought down Shane Long.
Gabbiadini was making his first start in more than a month and Mauricio Pellegrino will hope his brace prompts a return to the sort of form that saw the Italian score six goals in his first four games for Southampton last season.
He had previously only managed one so far this term.
The striker’s intervention here will also come as a relief to England hopeful Fraser Forster after the goalkeeper endured several shaky moments and was caught out of position for both Newcastle’s goals.
For Rafael Benitez’s side, who stay ninth, this was an opportunity missed against a team struggling for goals and confidence but the game might have been very different had DeAndre Yedlin been handed a second yellow card for a late challenge early in the second period.
Long was passed fit, despite missing the Republic of Ireland’s win over Wales with a hip injury, while Jonjo Shelvey wore a cast on his hand after breaking a finger trying to break up a training ground row last week.
This was something of a battle between the master and the apprentice considering Pellegrino played under Benitez at both Valencia and Liverpool and then later joined the Spaniard’s coaching staff at Anfield.
Roy Hodgson was also watching on in the crowd, with his rejuvenated Crystal Palace side up against Newcastle next weekend.
He might have been encouraged by Newcastle’s defending early on as Dusan Tadic should have put Southampton in front but nodded Nathan Redmond’s cross over when left free at the back post.
It proved a costly miss because in the 20th minute, the visitors took the lead.
Christian Atsu’s driven effort was blocked by Maya Yoshida, but with Forster already diving to his left, Hayden’s first-time shot wrong-footed the goalkeeper and hit the back of the net.
Southampton lost their way and when a free-kick routine resulted in Redmond side-footing straight to his opponent’s feet, the home crowd let out a collective groan of irritation.
Newcastle almost doubled their advantage early in the second half when Perez’s feathered finish dropped onto the bar before two goals arrived, one at each end, in as many minutes.
First, Gabbiadini whipped a shot through the legs of Javier Manquillo and into the bottom corner before Perez restored the Magpies’ lead, reacting fastest to Forster saving his initial shot by squeezing in the rebound from the angle.
Forster, who had already flapped a cross behind and seen a clearance closed down, might have been disappointed not at least to have covered off his near post.
Newcastle were back in the driving seat but fortunate not to play the last half an hour with 10 men as Yedlin, already booked, flew in high and late on Redmond. Referee Kevin Friend judged a final warning punishment enough.
There was no doubt about the penalty decision with 15 minutes left, however, as Lejeune needlessly fouled Long when the striker was posing little threat to Newcastle’s goal. Gabbiadini slammed the spot-kick home to level up.
Both teams pushed forward in search of a late winner and Lejeune almost made amends for his earlier error, only for substitute Steven Davis to clear the Frenchman’s 89th-minute header off the line. It was a dramatic end to a thrilling contest.
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