Newcastle 1 Bournemouth 2 – Another home defeat, Guimaraes is back, but boos at full-time

St James’ Park is becoming the very opposite of a happy hunting ground for Newcastle United right now after they fell to their fifth home Premier League defeat in six games courtesy of a miserable 2-1 loss to Bournemouth.

Eddie Howe’s wait for a Premier League win over the club he used to manager goes on — this was his eighth attempt — and he may also be left counting the long-term cost of a disappointing afternoon on Tyneside, with Tino Livramento forced off with a suspected groin problem and Anthony Gordon missing out completely withwhat was described as a hip injury.

Former Newcastle academy player Marcus Tavernier put the visitors ahead in a first half that Bournemouth dominated but Will Osula, set up by Bruno Guimaraes, who made his return to action from the bench, levelled things up with his second goal in as many matches, again justifying his selection ahead of summer signings Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa.

That moment of joy was met with a sting in the tail, however, with Bournemouth defender Adrien Truffert stabbing home the visitors’ winner in the 85th minute, leading to acrimony at the full-time whistle.

George Caulkin and Chris Waugh break down the main talking points from an angst-ridden outing.

Were Newcastle desperately lacking experience?

Whether it represented a changing of the guard, another attempt to shake things up or purely a coincidence, Howe’s starting XI brought a whiff of youthful difference. And whiff, sadly, is probably the right word.

A persistent criticism of the Newcastle head coach is that he has “favourites”, which tends to be shorthand for experience, but for the first time since Kieran Trippier’s arrival in January 2022 — leading the vanguard post-takeover — Howe’s side began a match without a member of their current leadership group on the pitch.

Those five players are Trippier, Nick Pope, Jacob Murphy, Dan Burn and Guimaraes, the club captain, who making his return from a hamstring injury and a bout of the mumps. They were all on the substitutes’ bench. At 28, Harvey Barnes was the oldest member of the side which started against Bournemouth, while Sandro Tonali, the Italy international, was named captain.

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe gestures from the sidelines during his team's game against Bournemouth

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe attempts to cajole his team against Bournemouth (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Yet Newcastle’s first half was desperately lacking a leader. Guimaraes is not a shouter but he is a tempo-setter, and there was nobody setting a tone or getting a grip of the match. There was not much in the way of aggression and it was a creative desert. To put it bluntly, they were bang average.

It was no surprise to see Tripper take to the field for second 45 minutes, nor for Murphy and Guimaraes to follow. Newcastle had missed their urgency and drive. Leadership had been lacking but then again, so had everything else.

It was a change which brought another version of the same old story.

George Caulkin

Guimaraes returns but his influence cannot turn the tide

Newcastle needed a moment of inspiration or a slice of fortune to get back into the game — and, in the 68th minute, they got a mixture of both. But to no material avail in the end.

Guimaraes, the influential skipper who had missed the previous 12 games due to injury, had only been on the pitch for six minutes, attempted to play a ball forward from the centre circle. His willingness to try and create unsettled Bournemouth, who had been comfortable dealing with a toothless Newcastle up until that stage, and Evanilson rushed in to make a challenge.

In doing so, the Brazilian inadvertently sent Osula through on goal. The Dane, who had been in an offside position, then held off Marcos Senesi, before sorting out his feet, turning inside and scoring for the second game in succession with what was his first shot of the game. He had been completely isolated and Newcastle had not provided him with any service beforehand.

Initially, the offside flag went up, but Guimaraes went over to Tom Bramall, the referee, to stress that he had not played the ball forwards, that it was actually Evanilson, meaning Osula could not be offside. Following a three-minute VAR intervention, the goal was awarded, with Jason Tindall, the assistant head coach, made aware before the playing, and so he started clenching his fists in celebration.

Guimaraes turned to the East Stand and screamed for encouragement, trying to drive his side on for a winner.

In truth, it never looked like coming. Instead, Bournemouth hit Newcastle with a sucker punch, ensuring a fifth defeat in six home league games, and eighth in 11th top-flight matches, piling the pressure on Howe.

Chris Waugh

Boos ring out at St James’ again

Boos are becoming a familiar soundtrack at St James’, a stadium traditionally known for the fervency of its support.

After Newcastle’s previous home fixture, a desperate 2-1 defeat to Sunderland, their local rivals, there had been ugly scenes — harsh words and gestures — when Howe and his players traipsed around the pitch for their usual lap of appreciation.

Howe’s name was sung with some gusto at the start of the Bournemouth match but once Newcastle went behind, the atmosphere shifted. When Evanilson narrowly failed to double the lead in front of the Gallowgate End, sourness calcified. There was an intake of breath.

For the first time since the dog days of the Mike Ashley era, it felt like a stadium on a knife-edge and jeers erupted when Tom Bramall, the referee, whistled for half-time.

Fans rallied in the second half and there was another loud round of “Eddie Howe’s black and white army”, but there was also an explosion of annoyance when Anthony Elanga gave the ball away in a promising position. There were chants for Woltemade, the centre-forward, who was marooned on the bench.

The sound which greeted Osula’s equaliser — before before and after a long VAR check — was a deafening mixture of relief and frustration, bundled into one. Loyalty is valued at Newcastle and they are a slow crowd to turn.
It felt like a big moment, for both Newcastle and for Howe but bigger was Bournemouth retaking the lead late on. It was rinse and repeat.

Those noise at the end was unsparing and deflated.

George Caulkin