Newcastle United boss 'adamant' over controversial Nick Woltemade moment v Bournemouth
Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade had a penalty appeal turned down against AFC Bournemouth.
Eddie Howe felt Newcastle United were denied a penalty in their goalless draw away to AFC Bournemouth.
Howe made seven changes to the side that lost 2-1 to Barcelona in the Champions League on Thursday night, with captain Bruno Guimaraes among those to be benched.
Guimaraes, Kieran Trippier, Joelinton, Harvey Barnes and Anthony Elanga dropped to the bench, while Fabian Schar missed out with a head injury and Anthony Gordon through suspension.
That saw new signing Malick Thiaw, Lewis Hall, Joe Willock and Lewis Miley handed their first starts of the 2025-26 campaign. Sven Botman, Jacob Murphy and club-record signing Nick Woltemade also came into the starting XI.
Eddie Howe felt Newcastle United were denied a penalty vs AFC Bournemouth
And it was Woltemade who was involved in a contentious moment in the game when he went to ground following a shirt pull by Bournemouth defender Bafode Diakite.
But the German striker’s appeals for a penalty were turned down by referee Robert Jones. VAR did not intervene, with Howe feeling the officials missed a spot-kick.
“Yeah, I haven't seen it back, but my gut instinct was that it was a penalty,” Howe told NewcastleWorld. “I was adamant that it was, that was just my feeling. I felt that he was tugged and he was pulled and it stopped him from getting his shot off.
“So, yeah, for me it was a clear penalty, but I might feel differently when I watch it again.”
Eddie Howe reflects on Newcastle United’s draw at AFC Bournemouth
Newcastle kept Bournemouth at bay having shipped four goals against them at St James’ Park earlier this year. Howe was pleased with his side’s defensive performance but alluded to the that they only registered one shot on target.
The Magpies have drawn their opening three away matches at Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth 0-0.
Howe said: “A tough game here, I think it always is. I think Andoni’s got Bournemouth playing a really strong style of football, which is difficult to play against.
“I thought we defended very well today, I think much better than we have done against Bournemouth in recent games. I think we limited them really to long shots. I think Nick's made a couple of important saves, but ones that I'd probably expect him to make, although it's never easy to do.
“But yeah, so our defensive performance was really strong. I think we struggled to create chances today, that's a natural disappointment.
“Our plan was to try and win the game with our plan, but it wasn't to be. But I think it's a really strange occurrence, it's three nils away from home for us, which is really uncommon in our attacking style.”