Eddie Howe 'baffled' by what Newcastle United players did during 2-0 defeat at Crystal Palace

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe was left baffled by what his side did against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.

Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice for Palace at Selhurst Park to end Newcastle’s four-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.

Reflecting on his side’s return to action after a 10-day break, Howe said afterwards: “Very disappointed with the performance. From the high of Tottenham to the low of tonight, we were disappointing in most aspects of our play and we have to take responsibility for that.”

“The gap between games didn't help us on reflection. We knew the gap was there and we needed to perform better than we did today. 

“We worked during the gap to not have an adverse effect on our performance. We knew it was there and have to take responsibility for that - it's not an excuse but maybe that gap did hamper our rhythm.”

Newcastle took until the 86th minute to register a shot on target in the game and failed to find the net in a Premier League match for the first time since December. And United’s attacking was something that left Howe baffled after recent performances.

“We looked rusty in all aspects of our game,” he added. “Palace played well and we have to give them credit for that but usually we're technically a lot better than that. 

“We didn't attack well and were reluctant to shoot around their goal which baffles me really that when we got half a yard we didn't pull the trigger.”