Newcastle United star’s seven-word reaction to what he saw team-mate do during Bournemouth draw

Fabian Schar labelled Newcastle United's 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Saturday evening as a ‘big disappointment’.
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It was Newcastle's fifth draw in six Premier League games as they remained fourth in the table. Miguel Almiron’s 10th goal of the season cancelled out Marcos Senesi’s opener.

The point saw The Magpies stretch their unbeaten run in the top flight to 17 matches, the longest active run of any top flight side in Europe’s major leagues.

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But with Bournemouth sitting 19th in the table and sides like Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton and Chelsea all dropping points ahead of Newcastle's match, it felt like a missed opportunity for Schar and his team-mates.

Bournemouth's Ivory Coast midfielder Hamed Traore (R) vies with Newcastle United's Swiss defender Fabian Schar during the English Premier League football match between Bournemouth and Newcastle United at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, southern England on February 11, 2023. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)Bournemouth's Ivory Coast midfielder Hamed Traore (R) vies with Newcastle United's Swiss defender Fabian Schar during the English Premier League football match between Bournemouth and Newcastle United at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, southern England on February 11, 2023. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Bournemouth's Ivory Coast midfielder Hamed Traore (R) vies with Newcastle United's Swiss defender Fabian Schar during the English Premier League football match between Bournemouth and Newcastle United at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, southern England on February 11, 2023. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)

“It was a big disappointment not to get three points but on the other side we haven't been beat at a tough place to come,” Schar told The Gazette. “In the end we came here to get three points but we didn't do enough to get it.

“I think we were the better team but in the final third we didn't create as much as we could do. It was difficult when they defended quite deep so it was tough to break them down."

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The Swiss international added: “We saw the results before the game and saw the opportunity to get three points which we 100-per-cent tried to do but at the end if you can't win, don't get beat which is what we did.

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"It would have been a good day to get three points and that's why we're disappointed.”

While Newcastle were frustrated to be held to a draw, it could have been worse had Kieran Trippier not cleared Dominic Solanke’s flick off the line in stoppage time.

"I was quite close to it so I was just thinking 'please don't hit me and go in!'” Schar recalled. “I'm pleased he got it away in the end.”

Schar has played a key part in the Premier League’s most formidable defence so far this season with Newcastle conceding a league low 13 goals in 22 games. And in 25 appearances for Newcastle in all competitions this season the 31-year-old is still yet to taste defeat.

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Even when United’s performance levels have dipped as they did at the Vitality Stadium, Schar has been a consistent and dependable presence at the back.

But the £3million centre-back wasn’t interested in taking individual plaudits or focusing on statistics.

“The confidence is not from me but the whole team which I think is quite big," he admitted. “It's good to know that we are very solid and hard to break down but I don't like to look too much at stats because you just have to take it game by game and try to pick up three points as much as possible."

After going six games without a win earlier this season, Newcastle climbed up the table with a run of eight wins from their next nine league games. And Schar isn’t too concerned by the side’s current run of form.

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“It's part of the season, we're not going to go through the Premier League winning every game because every week it's a tough game,” Schar continued. “We’ve not been losing games so it's something we can be proud of.

"It's just about keeping up the hard work to win the next game.”