Matt Ritchie's brilliant reaction to '˜horrific' Newcastle miss

Matt Ritchie fears that he'll NEVER be able to live his Turf Moor miss down.
Matt Ritchie.Matt Ritchie.
Matt Ritchie.

Ritchie missed from two yards in Newcastle United’s 2-1 win over Burnley on Monday night.

And the winger, consoled by Rafa Benitez as he left the field, was just relieved that the chance didn’t have an outcome on the result.

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Newcastle’s third successive win lifted the club up to 13th in the Premier League table ahead of Saturday’s home game against West Ham United.

Asked if he was able to laugh about the miss, Ritchie said: “I’m not exactly laughing about it, because I have high expectations.

“So, inside, I’m devastated to miss an easy chance like that. I love scoring goals, and I’ve not got one yet this season. Let’s be honest, I’m not going to have too many chances like that again.

“It will certainly prey on my mind to get a chance like that and not take it. That’s frustrating, but, most importantly, we’ve picked up a fantastic result and now we keep going. There’s a good feeling inside the dressing room after a performance like that – that’s the most important thing.”

Ritchie’s team-mates won’t let him forget the miss.

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“I’m sure they will keep reminding me,” said the 29-year-old . “I’m sure it will be on telly all day, every worst misses compilations – the lot. I won’t be able to forget about it.

“I’ve seen it again, and it doesn’t look good. In the game, I didn’t really understand how I missed it, and I kept thinking ‘how did I miss that?’ when I was trying to concentrate on the game.

“I wasn’t really aware of what was happening in the game. I’ve seem it again – what an opportunity! I’m just relieved it hasn’t cost us.”

Asked how he’d describe the miss, Ritchie added: “Horrific miss – horrendous miss. But that’s football. I’ll keep going, keep plugging away, work my socks off.

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“Luckily enough the miss has not cost us three points, so, in a way, I can smile about it, but, believe me, inside it hurts. Hopefully, next game I can put it behind me.”

DeAndre Yedlin had delivered a low cross from the right to Ritchie, fielded as a wing back, at the far post.

“I think I was celebrating before I shot,” said Ritchie. “It’s a miss I’ll probably remember for the rest of my life, but one that I will make sure never happens again.

“I gambled, made a good run to the back post and then when the ball came over – unbelievable. I still cant work out how I missed it. Luckily, it didn’t cost us, so, on the outside, I can smile about it, but on the inside, it hurts.

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“I’d love to score this weekend, but it’s not about me scoring. It’s about the team, and every player made a fantastic contribution.

Newcastle are now four points clear of the relegation zone.

“We certainly won’t get carried away, but that’s three wins on the bounce and it’s made a tremendous difference,” said Ritchie.

“Now it’s about keep performing, keep the standards high.”