Dan Burn said 10 or 15 minutes of “madness” cost Newcastle dear as Champions League victory over Marseille slipped from their grasp.
The Magpies were leading 1-0 at the Stade Velodrome when Nick Pope’s rush of blood handed 36-year-old Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang an equaliser seconds into the second half before the former Arsenal frontman sealed a 2-1 win.
Speaking to TNT Sports, a deflated Burn said: “Definitely frustrating. I thought we stuck to the game-plan pretty well for the whole game, just 10, 15 minutes of madness at the start of the second half has cost us.
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“It’s definitely disappointing to come to a team like this and a stadium like this, atmosphere like this and put all that in and not come away with anything. Yes, it’s disappointing.
“Mentally, we didn’t start the second half as well as we wanted to and I think obviously Aubameyang, 36 years old, but still sharp and can still finish and showed his quality today.
“When you go 2-1 down and you’ve got to break them down away from home, it’s tough. As I say, I think it was actually a pretty good performance, but key moments cost us.
“We had chances that we should have scored and didn’t capitalise on them, and then obviously the two goals, we’re really disappointed.”
Head coach Eddie Howe was equally disappointed with the way his side squandered a lead which would have given them just a second away win of the season after Harvey Barnes — Saturday’s match-winner against Manchester City — had opened the scoring in the sixth minute.
“There are areas we can improve,” he told a news conference. “These are the games we want to play in and test ourselves in.
“The second half, I think we did not react to the goal. We did not react to the goal, we were on the back foot and the crowd came into it. Then we were not at our best.”
However, Howe refused to criticise Pope after the goalkeeper’s error allowed Marseille back into the game.
“It’s a concern when we concede goals regardless of who’s at fault,” he said. “We have to look at everything with a balanced head.
“He saved us many times. He made some really good saves against Manchester City just two days ago. That’s the life of a goalkeeper. But I’ll certainly back him.”
By contrast Aubameyang, who scored his 400th career goal at the 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 many he had left in him, Aubameyang said: “Hopefully a lot. I’m feeling great even if I’m 36. I’m enjoying it and when you live these type of games, of course you want to play more and score more.
“It was very, very important, especially at home for the fans and for us. If we want to go through, obviously we need to win games, so yes, it was very important.”
Information from PA was used in this report.
