Cristian Romero’s dramatic last-gasp overhead kick rescued Tottenham, who twice fell behind, earning a 2-2 draw at Newcastle and easing some pressure on manager Thomas Frank.
Anthony Gordon’s controversial penalty in the 86th minute looked to have condemned Spurs to a fourth straight defeat, but Romero — who had cancelled out Bruno Guimaraes’ opener seven minutes earlier — popped up again in stoppage time (90+5) to salvage a point. His improvised overhead effort, just Tottenham’s second shot on target, looped through a crowded penalty area and past Aaron Ramsdale.
Newcastle had controlled much of the first half but broke the deadlock in the 71st minute after Eddie Howe introduced captain Bruno Guimaraes from the bench. Gordon’s cross was flicked into the path of Guimaraes, who finished brilliantly into the bottom corner.
Spurs reacted after a triple substitution that sent on Mathys Tel, Richarlison and Xavi Simons. Seven minutes after Newcastle’s opener, Kudus’ cross was met by a diving Romero, whose header levelled the match.
Late drama followed when VAR intervened to award Newcastle a penalty after Rodrigo Bentancur tangled with Dan Burn at a corner. Gordon converted from the spot to restore Newcastle’s lead, only for Romero to produce the acrobatic equaliser after Aaron Ramsdale’s punch from a Spurs corner found the captain.
The draw keeps both sides in the lower half of the Premier League table. No side has dropped more points from winning positions this season than Newcastle (11, level with Brentford). Tottenham remain without a win in their last five Premier League matches.
Thomas Frank on the performance: “The performance showed fantastic mentality and character. Every team needs that. It is fair to say it has been a tough week, fourth game in 10 days, third away game. St James’ Park is always a difficult place to come. Last 60 minutes I am very happy with that performance overall. The ability to react to setbacks was great. We suffered the first 25 minutes. Sometimes you need to suffer, after that we were very brave, calm on the ball going forward. There’s a lot to love about the performance.”
Cristian Romero after the match: “It’s very important. In the last three or four games, the team knows it’s not been good enough. Today, the mentality to play like this altogether it’s a difficult time, but especially in this game, I love the mentality. I train every day with Leo Messi in the national team and I watch him. It’s a beautiful goal.”
Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp praised Spurs’ character and Romero’s leadership: “Spurs showed tremendous character because it hasn’t been going their way. They weren’t perfect by any stretch but they had a captain and a leader who grabbed that game by the scruff of the neck. Two great goals, certainly the first one was a world-class diving header, the second one a shinaldo! It was exactly what Spurs needed. They got back into the game and showed real character.”
Frank criticised the penalty decision: “It was an absolute mistake from the VAR. The ref did good to do the ref call and they encourage the refereeing call on the pitch. For me that is never a penalty, there are ten of those a game.”
Howe on Newcastle’s performance and the late equaliser: “I don’t think it was us at our best today but we battled into a position we wanted with a few minutes left and we just couldn’t defend that corner at the end. We are disappointed with the first goal, it was a standard cross and we haven’t defended it well enough. Second one, we didn’t deal with the first contact then didn’t stop the overhead kick. Somehow it went in. It’s a painful one for us to take. A disappointing feeling having worked so hard. Bruno’s goal was an outstanding finish. He made a difference, his energy and enthusiasm and passion always stand out for us. He made a big difference. On the penalty award: ‘The big thing is the defender doesn’t look at the ball at all, he’s just looking at Dan. It’s probably the right call.'”
Player ratings
– Newcastle: Ramsdale 6, Livramento 7, Thiaw 7, Burn 6, Hall 7, Joelinton 7, Tonali 6, Miley 7, Murphy 6, Woltemade 7, Barnes 7. Subs: Bruno Guimaraes 8, Gordon 7, Elanga 6, Schar n/a.
– Tottenham: Vicario 7, Porro 6, Danso 7, Romero 8, Udogie 7, Sarr 6, Bentancur 6, Bergvall 8, Johnson 6, Kolo Muani 6, Kudus 7. Subs: Simons n/a, Richarlison n/a, Tel n/a, Gray n/a, Odobert n/a.
– Player of the Match: Cristian Romero.
What’s next
– Newcastle fixtures
– Tottenham fixtures
– Premier League fixtures