Three things from Newcastle United’s dramatic draw vs. Bournemouth

It was a closely contested match between Newcastle United and Bournemouth yesterday.

Newcastle United battled to a 2-2 draw vs. Bournemouth yesterday. We take a look at a physical midfield, some questionable calls, and late magic from the Magpies.

Playing against a Diame-Hayden midfield does not look like much fun.

With Sean Longstaff done for the season, Mohamed Diame and Isaac Hayden have become one of Rafa Benitez’s preferred pairings in the central midfield. While they do not have the passing skill or offensive prowess of Longstaff, Jonjo Shelvey, or Ki, they make things very uncomfortable for the opposing midfield.

Both players made crunching tackles in the middle of the park. Playing on the road, it was important that Newcastle established themselves as the aggressor and the physical tandem in the central midfield was a big part of that.

Two key, close calls go against the Toon

In the first half, Jefferson Lerma took out Ayoze Perez with a rough challenge. The oft-carded Bournemouth man received a yellow card, but based on his studs being up and how high in the leg Perez was caught, a red card should probably have been issued. Most of the pundits on multiple halftime shows agreed it should have been a sending off.

Shortly after the break, Bournemouth were awarded a penalty after it was ruled Federico Fernandez pulled Nathan Ake down in the area on a corner kick. While there was contact made, it seemed to be a soft penalty, which pundits and social media agreed with.

Neither call was a crystal clear decision, but both seemed to be incorrect and against Newcastle. Referee Mike Dean did not cost the Magpies the match, but it was unfortunate they couldn’t get one of the close calls to go their direction.

Late magic continues

For most of the season, Newcastle United have been snakebitten by late goals. But, after scoring the winner vs. Everton in the 84th minute, Matt Ritchie kept the late magic going.

Newcastle appeared en route to a 2-1 loss on the road vs. the club directly above them on the table. But, the Magpies kept working and pressing for the equalizer. Finally, DeAndre Yedlin’s cross found Matt Ritchie towards the far post and the former Cherrie boomed in the volley to level things.