The away end was still crowded, still singing, still clapping. Newcastle United had just suffered a 3-0 defeat against Aston Villa yet not even the crackling sound system could drown out the sound of the travelling fans chanting: "Who's that team we call United? Who's that team we all adore? We play in black and white and we all know how to fight. We'll support you ever more!"
These same supporters had seen their side defeat Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, West Ham and Brentford during a five-game winning streak that reignited the club's push for the Champions League before Saturday's defeat at Villa Park. Perspective was needed. This was a rare off-day that must serve as a wake-up call after Newcastle were uncharacteristically second-best all over the park to Eddie Howe's surprise.
"When you're in my shoes, you want to see a representation of your work and the basic fundamentals of a good performance: our work ethic and commitment and desire to win the game," the Newcastle boss told reporters. "I'm not saying that wasn't there from the players on a level, but we were just a yard off. We were just a yard off in every phase of play and that's difficult to watch when you know your team is better than what it's showing."
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Yet, crucially, top four rivals Spurs did not take advantage and there was a 'difficult watch' of a very different kind for opposite number Cristian Stellini over in North London on Saturday. Spurs, somehow, conspired to lose 3-2 at home against Bournemouth. Not only after going 1-0 up before the quarter-hour mark but, also, after equalising to make it 2-2 in the 88th minute.
However, the atmosphere had turned very toxic inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium long before Dango Ouattara's stoppage-time winner for the visitors. Davinson Sanchez may have his failings, after being at fault for two of Bournemouth's three goals after coming on, but the devastated substitute did not deserve to have his every touch thereafter booed by his own supporters or to be ironically cheered when taken off in the 58th minute. Away from the pitch, fellow defender Pedro Porro received so much abuse after the game on social media that he deactivated both his Twitter and Instagram accounts.
These unsavoury scenes mirrored the chaos on the field on an afternoon where Harry Kane ended up playing in midfield behind a front four as Spurs desperately went in search of a winner that would have taken them level on points with Newcastle. However, there is a reason why the mentality of this group has long been questioned by so many of the club's own managers over the years. Having inexplicably dropped deep rather than going for the throat after Son heung-Min's opener, Spurs, ironically, lost the game when they went for broke late on.
The frustrations inside the stadium were not only evident at full-time when Spurs fans booed their side off. Stellini and his staff stormed down the tunnel at the final whistle and did not even bother to shake the hand of Gary O'Neil, which the Bournemouth boss described as 'poor on their part'.
In the dressing room, meanwhile, captain Hugo Lloris admitted there was 'a lot of disappointment'. "It was more than a normal game because we missed a chance to go closer to Newcastle," he told beIN SPORTS.
No wonder goal scorer Arnaut Danjuma spoke after the game about how Spurs needed to 'find our togetherness'. The reality is that Newcastle already have that quality in spades and Kieran Trippier vowed to NUFC TV that his side's defeat at Villa 'won't affect us', pointing to the group's 'great mentality' and 'great togetherness'.
This was not just empty talk. Newcastle have tended to bounce back after painful afternoons under Howe. Newcastle won five of their next six games after the Carabao Cup final defeat, for instance, and the Magpies also recovered from hammerings at the hands of Spurs and Man City towards the back end of last season. Now they have to do so once again.
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