Newcastle United owed a penalty save to Nick Pope in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Leeds United at Elland Road.
Leeds were leading 1-0 thanks to an early Luke Ayling goal when they were given a penalty after Joelinton tripped Junior Firpo inside the box.Patrick Bamford came up, but Pope denied him the opportunity to keep his team in the game.
After parrying the ball into the path of Ayling for Leeds’ opener, Pope hurriedly grabbed the ball away before Bamford could connect on the rebound to save the penalty.
“It was really just a panic because you realize the taker is always the first to rebound if it doesn’t go too far,” Pope reflected. “It was obviously a really sticky, pitch, sticky day, so it was a difficult one to hold onto, so I decided to get rid of it in that high-adrenaline, emotional moment with it being a penalty, and I didn’t want to take any risks trying to hold on.”
After Alexander Isak was fouled by Max Wober, Newcastle equalized from the penalty spot through Callum Wilson. Wilson then handed The Magpies the lead with another penalty after VAR flagged Firpo’s handball.
But Newcastle weren’t able to see out the win as Rasmus Kristensen’s deflected effort made it 2-2 heading into the closing stages of the match.
Despite the evident disappointment, Pope was eager to highlight the benefits of the point in Newcastle’s pursuit of a top-four finish.
“Second goal is hard to say, maybe it could have taken a different deflection, you’ve just got to try and close the ball down,” he told BBC Newcastle. “The boys have done so well for me this year in terms of protection, but it can take a nick and go the wrong way.”
“When you go up 2-1 in a game in the second half, you want to see it out or extend the lead, whatever it is.” It’s a point on the board and a step closer to our goal, so it’s nothing to get too worked up about.
“The fact is that we still need points. We’re not going to lose every game between now and the end of the season and win the [Champions League], so we need to go out, and the most critical game is against Brighton.
“We’re going to have ups and downs, and obviously happy moments, and that’s just part of being a goalie.” You’re focused on the game.
“[Leeds] make every team’s life difficult. It’s a big game for second balls, long balls, defending your box effectively, trying to put your own imprint on the game, so it’s always a tough game.”
Newcastle stay third in the Premier League league as they prepare to host Brighton and Leicester City before traveling to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on the final day.
The Magpies haven’t played in the Champions League in 20 years, but they are already promised a spot in next season’s Europa League if they finish no worse than sixth.
Leave a Reply