Eddie Howe praised Alexander Isak “ruthless mentality” after the striker earned Newcastle United a dramatic 1-1 draw at Brighton on Sunday. It has kept their Champions League hopes alive amid a match dominated by VAR interventions.
Isak netted from the spot in the 88th minute on the south coast. It registered his 23rd Premier League goal of the season and rescuing a crucial point for the visitors. The Magpies had trailed since the first half, when Yankuba Minteh fired Brighton ahead.
Before Isak’s equaliser, Newcastle were twice awarded penalties, only for VAR to overturn both decisions.
The first was rescinded when replays showed Anthony Gordon was fouled just outside the area by Tariq Lamptey. The second came after Joe Willock was judged to have dived. On both occasions, Isak had been ready to take the kick.
“I’ve not been there myself, so I can’t put myself in his shoes,” said Howe.
“But I can only imagine the process he is going through and then he has to stop, and that’s why he did very well because it would be very, very easy to miss that moment. But he didn’t.”
The Swedish forward finally got his chance after Brighton substitute Yasin Ayari was penalised for a handball during Fabian Schär’s free-kick, leading to a third and final spot-kick.
“He’s got that ruthless mentality to scoring goals. And that’s where you really lean on those type of players. To have the coolness of mind to just take a step back and go, ‘right, this is what I need to do’ and deliver it for the team.
It was a brilliant penalty in a big moment because we needed something from the game. Losing the game would have dented us.”
The result left Newcastle in fourth place, three points ahead of sixth-placed Nottingham Forest. But with three games remaining and the top five Premier League teams set to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League, the race remains tight. Forest can draw level on points with both Newcastle and Chelsea if they win away at Crystal Palace on Monday.
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