Alexander Isak waved his arms up and down to whip up the crowd further yet Newcastle United's record signing need not have worried. St James' Park was at its deafening best once more after the Sweden international confidently dispatched a penalty to draw Newcastle level against Bournemouth in the 67th minute.
It was Isak's first goal at this iconic stadium, but the record signing did not want to waste too many precious seconds celebrating as he followed his team-mates back to their own half so that the game could get back under way as quickly as possible. The message was clear: Newcastle were going to go all-out for a winner.
Having shown real character to respond to Philip Billing's opener just a few minutes earlier, and make it 1-1, the momentum was now with the hosts as they went in search of their first league win since the opening day. However, that second goal never came on Saturday. There was to be no grandstand finish.
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There may have still been nearly half an hour to go, including stoppage time, but panicked Newcastle played like referee Craig Pawson was about to blow the whistle and never looked like they were going to take the lead. Newcastle simply got more desperate the longer the game went on and resorted to shooting from distance rather than patiently moving the ball. It said it all that there were a whopping six minutes of stoppage time added on yet Newcastle's only chance of note late on was a Fabian Schar effort from outside the box that went high and wide.
As the minutes ticked by, frustrated substitute Sean Longstaff screamed: "COME ON!" in an effort to get the game back under way quickly but Bournemouth were, understandably, in no rush. The crowd shared Longstaff's frustration; there were even some boos at full-time.
It was an afternoon where Newcastle hit the woodwork twice and had 20 shots, eight corners and 73% possession, but the Magpies lacked a cutting edge once more as the creativity of Jonjo Shelvey, the X-Factor of Allan Saint-Maximin and the instincts of Callum Wilson were again missed. More than anything, though, the intensity that we have come to associate with Howe's side was not there on a curiously flat afternoon.
“I’ll have to watch the game again to get a better understanding of why we weren’t quite there today," Howe told reporters after the match. "There will be games where that happens.
"It’s a long season and you’re never going to be physically, mentally, tactically, technically at your very best every single game but, even in those moments, you still need to find a way to win. We did that last year on numerous occasions when we weren’t playing well. This season, we haven’t been able to do that yet and that’s been a frustration for us."
It has been a strange campaign to judge results wise. On one hand, Newcastle have lost just one game so far but, on the other, the Magpies have only one league win in seven matches. However, it is easy to forget how far this side have come and how impressive performances have been in the main.
To move to the next level, though, these are the sorts of fixtures Newcastle have to win. That is not to say this was going to be a straightforward game, of course. Bournemouth may have suffered a 9-0 defeat at Liverpool last month, but the newly-promoted Cherries are level on points with Newcastle for a reason.
Under interim boss Gary O'Neill, Bournemouth have been a well-organised, resilient outfit and the Cherries' low block came as no surprise to Howe and his players. Newcastle, after all, had worked on their attacking play in training in anticipation of another home game where the hosts would have so much possession and territory once more.
The return of Bruno Guimaraes, therefore, was a boost as the Brazil international is one of the few players who can unlock a stubborn defence even in a deep-lying role. Bruno may have only had two days' training in the run-up, after shaking off a hamstring issue, but you can see why Howe threw the midfielder in from the off and why he stayed on beyond the planned 60 minutes.
Bruno was ultimately one of only two changes Howe made from the side that was held to a frustrating draw against Crystal Palace last time out as Newcastle played their first game since the death of the Queen. After supporters paid tribute to Her Majesty with an impeccable minute's silence on Saturday, both sets of fans sang a rousing rendition of 'God Save the King'.
The roar that followed was spine-tingling and you could sense Newcastle set out to get the crowd in the game from the off and race out of the blocks. The Magpies, after all, knew that first goal was crucial when it came to forcing compact Bournemouth to open up.
However, it was Bournemouth who should have taken an early lead when Marcus Tavernier, who was once on Newcastle's books, somehow failed to hit the target after getting his head on the end of Jordan Zemura's cross. It was an early warning that Bournemouth carried a threat on the break.
Newcastle, in contrast, struggled to test Neto from open play for much of the first half but Howe's side can cause problems from set-plays - especially with Kieran Trippier in the side. In fact, there was less than half an hour on the clock when a trademark Trippier free-kick from 25 yards out struck the outside the post.
It gave the crowd a much-needed lift as Newcastle pushed for an opener during their best spell of the game full stop and the Magpies continued to cause Bournemouth problems from set-pieces. Trippier's corner was only cleared as far as Bruno in the 43rd minute and, although the crowd urged him to shoot, the midfielder calmly passed the ball to Joelinton, whose shot cannoned off the inside of the post.
Just a few seconds later, Isak's cross found Joelinton at the back post, but the Brazilian's latest effort was parried away by Neto before the ball eventually came back out to Fraser, whose curling shot was tipped over the bar by the goalkeeper. It was a strong finish to the half, but Newcastle did not build on that momentum and it was Bournemouth who broke the deadlock after the break.
Newcastle failed to clear their lines in the 62nd minute and the ball came out to the lively Zemura out on the left, who had far too much time and space. It was one thing failing to block Zemura's cross but, crucially, no one in black and white picked up the unmarked Billing, who ghosted in between Fabian Schar and Dan Burn to give Bournemouth the lead.
Newcastle were not behind for long, however. Schar's ball over the top found Trippier inside the area and the right-back's cross was blocked by the hand of Jefferson Lerma. Craig Pawson did not give a penalty, at first, but the official changed his mind after consulting his pitchside monitor.
Up stepped Alexander Isak, who had little to feed off all game, and the record signing coolly lashed the ball into the bottom left-hand corner to send Neto the wrong way and send Newcastle supporters wild. Newcastle had their equaliser, but the winner? Well, that never came.
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