Bournemouth boss makes ‘nasty’ Newcastle United claim after Carabao Cup loss

Newcastle progressed to the quarter-final with a 1-0 win over The Cherries at St James’s Park thanks to a second half own goal from Adam Smith. The Magpies also had a Callum Wilson goal ruled out in the first half for offside.

Replays suggested that the goal should have stood, and it very well may have had VAR been in place as it is in the Premier League. United were also denied a second half penalty after Bruno Guimaraes’ shot hit off Chris Mepham’s arm, but referee John Brooks waved away the appeals.

Yet after the match, O’Neil claimed Newcastle were helped by the referee as they got away with some ‘nasty’ challenges.

“I don’t think Kieffer [Moore] or Dom [Solanke] got too much help from the referee,” O’Neil said. “Newcastle were clever with sort of nudges in the back. Dom’s got a nasty stamp on his foot from an incident in the first half.

“Away to Newcastle, you don’t expect to be a dominant force but I felt we carried a threat and there was always something there that kept Newcastle on us and knew we could hurt them.”

Newcastle’s win means Howe’s side have lost just one of their last 19 matches at St James’s Park. A 1-0 defeat against Liverpool back in April and a shock FA Cup third round loss to Cambridge United by the same scoreline in January remain United’s only two home losses at St James’s Park in 2022.

And O’Neil gave a nod to Newcastle's form when assessing the match as a whole: “We came, we gave our best. You go out of the Carabao Cup against a top side, that are obviously taking the competition very, very seriously, with the team they named and the subs they made.

“Newcastle away in the Carabao Cup with the form they’re in, was never going to be an easy draw.

“The boys gave a real account of themselves. I asked them to make sure we’re competitive in every game and make sure it looks like us, and even though they’ve had a tough week, we were that.”

Bournemouth had 37% possession in the match and registered two shots on target, both of which were comfortably dealt with by Nick Pope. And the Bournemouth boss felt his side were ‘unlucky’ to have lost the game.

“We were competitive and, in my opinion, unlucky not to take the game further,” he continued. “I thought they showed the game plan very, very well. Obviously, as it always is in a game of football, there are things you would like to improve.

“First half, when we won the ball back, we missed a good opportunity on a couple of occasions to make sure we secure the first pass.

“Couple of opportunities to counter attack, but we missed that first one.

“But yeah, we stuck at it. Well organised, well disciplined and carried a threat. I was pleased.”