Fulham boss accuses Newcastle United of ‘tactical gamesmanship’ at Craven Cottage
EDDIE HOWE complimented his Newcastle United players’ improved attitude following their 1-0 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Bruno Guimaraes appeared late at the edge of the box and smashed home in the 81st minute, shortly after referee Sam Allison ruled their first strike out due to foul.
Howe’s side struggled to get going in the first half, but he praised their mental change during a break in play when goalkeeper Martin Dubravka underwent treatment.
“I am relieved.” It was a very difficult first 25 minutes; we were second best and struggled,” he stated.
“A change of attitude from us made the difference, we were stretched and there are reasons why we weren’t at our best in the opening period but it was an incredible response and I think it was one of our best wins of the season.”We needed to look at things differently; we were a touch reactive and late, which is unusual for us. We were fortunate to get into halftime at 0-0, and that provided another opportunity.”
Guimaraes’ goal brought him to four for the season, and the Brazil international battled during a gritty match in west London.
Howe praised the midfielder’s efforts to help his team win after their 1-1 draw with Everton last time out.
“I wax lyrical of him all the time and that’s because I genuinely feel it,” he said.
“He has a tremendous personality, which you could feel today. He had the skills on the ball to help us win the game, and I thought he did an excellent job.”
Marco Silva believes Newcastle urged Dubravka to go down for “tactical” reasons after the Slovakian goalkeeper required treatment twice.
Silva explained: “It was tactical. The first one is obvious; there was input for the goalkeeper to get down. As you are aware, if the goalkeeper goes down, the referee must call a timeout since the game cannot continue; this is a tactical move on their part. It’s what it is.
“It is Eddie (Howe)’s decision. Newcastle attempted to stop our momentum with the goalie (falling down) twice on the grass; they were battling in that moment and throughout the first half.”
Howe conceded that Newcastle was able to “refocus and regroup” as a result of the injury, claiming the goalie felt something in his leg.
He explained, “Martin was feeling something in his leg. We told him he had to go down if he was feeling something, so we had an opportunity to get the group in, which was much required at that point in the game.”
